Nevada company, ORNL develop potential lifesaver

A Las Vegas business and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are improving the odds for people medically at risk from dehydration or congestive heart failure.

The task for ORNL researchers Chuck Britton, Nance Ericson and Gary Alley was to improve and miniaturize Noninvasive Medical Technologies’ ZOE, a medical device that monitors a person’s hydration, or level of fluid. This is of great importance to members of the military and to thousands of home health care patients, athletes, firefighters and first responders.

“Technologies that allow for better hydration management will improve performance, medical triage and treatment of soldiers and others who are suffering from a fluid-electrolyte imbalance,” said Katy DeMarr, vice president, government relations of Noninvasive Medical Technologies.

As basic as it may seem for people to maintain proper levels of fluid, in practice it is not so simple as nationwide each year hundreds of people either die or suffer ill effects because of dehydration.

“Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of troops become dehydrated while performing their duties, and that’s a major concern to the military because the soldiers are not able to perform at peak levels,” DeMarr said. “Similarly, high school and college athletes would benefit greatly from knowing their hydration levels.”

While Noninvasive Medical Technologies has a ZOE on the market, used primarily in home health care applications, the company’s goal was to improve upon the product by making it more robust, smaller, less expensive and able to be monitored remotely.

DeMarr said her company sought out ORNL because of its expertise and stellar reputation in the areas of chip design. The project has progressed rapidly as Britton and Ericson, members of the lab’s Engineering Science and Technology Division, began work about a year ago and clinical trials for the new device were completed last month.

“Our key contributions were to reduce the system to an integrated circuit, or chip, to reduce the amount of power needed to operate the unit and to lower the cost,” Ericson said.

“Before we could do that, however, as a team we had to better understand the product as a circuit that has to operate in a wide range of temperatures yet maintain a high degree of accuracy,” Britton said.

The ZOE Fluid Status Monitor measures thoracic base impedance, which is a measurement of the electric current traveling from the top to the bottom of the thorax. This is accomplished by placing one electrode at the top and another at the bottom of the breastbone. The less resistance – measured in ohms – the more fluid in the chest. The normal range for people is between 19 ohms and 30 ohms. Values lower than 19 indicate that a person may be overhydrated while values exceeding 30 indicate dehydration.

“The measurement is a quick and easy method to determine whether a person is experiencing fluid congestion or dehydration,” DeMarr said. “Studies have shown that Zo, or the base resistance, is an early predictor of congestion in heart failure, showing decreases as early as two weeks prior to weight gain and other symptoms.”

A wearable wireless version of the ZOE instrument, ZOEwi, will allow monitoring during activity and is planned for market introduction in 2008, according to Jeremy Copeland, vice president of marketing for Noninvasive Medical Technologies.

Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Related stories:

Research shows how ultrasound can deliver therapeutic molecules into living cells
Researchers have shown how ultrasound energy can briefly "open a door" in the protective outer membranes of living cells to allow entry of drugs and other therapeutic molecules – and how the cells themselves can then quickly close the door. Understanding this mechanism could advance the use of ultrasound for delivering gene therapies, targeting chemotherapy and administering large-molecule drugs that cannot readily move through cell membranes.
Rare -- But Aggressive -- Form of Breast Cancer Undetectable By Mammogram
Most women believe that having their annual mammograms and clinical breast exams is enough to catch cancer if it develops.
New lab-on-a-chip can detect heart and gum disease instantly
Someday in the not-too-distant future patients may visit a doctor’s office, provide a sample of saliva or blood, and know in minutes if they are prone to heart disease, gum disease, or cancer. There would be no sending samples to off-site labs for analysis and waiting days to obtain the vital information.
A five-pound, hand-held medical diagnostic device being developed at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia National Laboratories promises to be this ticket to better health for millions of Americans.
A light bulb and a few chemicals: Scientists find a way to help make new reactions
(PhysOrg.com) -- Princeton scientists have discovered a way of stimulating organic molecules that they expect will prompt researchers to create materials from new kinds of chemical reactions.
At risk for peripheral arterial disease? Simple quiz provides key so you can circulate better
Ten million Americans have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and research shows that the highest risk populations include African-Americans (twice as likely to develop clogged leg arteries), seniors (12-20 percent develop PAD) and diabetics (one in three who are over the age of 50 develop PAD). Legs for Life®—a community health and public information program—recommends that older Americans take its free, online self-assessment quiz.
New nano device detects immune system cell signaling
Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short distances.
FDA OKs blood test for heart transplant rejection
(AP) -- Government regulators on Wednesday cleared the way for broader use of a blood test that can spare heart transplant patients the ordeal of repeated biopsies to check if their bodies are rejecting the new organ.
Scientists unmask brain's hidden potential
Previous research has found that when vision is lost, a person's senses of touch and hearing become enhanced. But exactly how this happens has been unclear.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news