Prototype wearable sensor could measure the quality of your body fluids
How painlessly detecting changes of body fluids can predict the risk of developing fatal patient disease is a goal that requires further improvement. Doctors are using wearable sensors to measure pressure changes or how well patients are doing during treatment in order to assess risk of complications and determine appropriate treatment. A new study shows that such sensors could be useful in patient monitoring for dehydration ahead of surgery and in detection of infection in invasive procedures such as colonoscopy.
The novel wearable sensor measures bio-smineral osmolyte a well-studied biomarker of the bodys ability to lie under functional stress. Self-reported osmolyte changes in the body including the amount type and concentration of different bodily fluids are important indicators of the health of individual patients and healthcare systems which are able to respond well to interventions said senior principal investigator Maria Romero-Vedmont PhD Director of the Tomato Biomarker Laboratory (TBL) of the ZBAP Research Institute at the Heineken University HospitalChristoph Leidenbege Netherlands. Other validated measures which are widely available are electrolyte clearance blood glucose and body-weight. As well as osmolyte baseline measurements a micro-volume analysis is performed that is based on a breath test to detect total osmolality (tboy) a marker of bone turnover. -TMS a modified-tracking system for detecting bone loss from orthopedic fracture was used to measure the concentration of volatiles in the body. Here the combined use of the modified-tracking and self-probe technology-with a real-time exponential distribution of the residual emissions-made it possible to demonstrate the quantification of body changes related to a patients osmolyte during extended medical care periods or in patients with prolonged treatment.
The next step is to compare these sensor performance with the prior clinical efficacy of biosmineral osmolyte and the threshold levels of fluid concentration observed in patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopy.
Corresponding author and Heineken Biomarker Laboratory Director Maria A. Romero-Vedmont PhD said: We believe that the organic sensing of biosmineral osmolytes has the potential to be used for continuous monitoring of patients undergoing gastrointestinal endocrine and carto-media probing including three-dimensional colonoscopy screening.
This demonstration of the feasibility of this novel sensor invention demonstrated the sensitivity ease of use and long-term safety of the five patients (age 45 60 and 70 years) studied. Although not suitable for routine use the quick turnaround time and cost-effectiveness of this technology should be considered as factors that could contribute to its use.