Non-invasive diagnostic devices for sleep and endothelial function assessment
Bio-medical technology firm Itamar Medical Ltd develops and markets diagnostic medical equipment based on its proprietary Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) Technology.
PAT Technology provides a non-invasive window to the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems, Itamar explains. ‘The PAT Signal is acquired by measuring pulsatile arterial volume changes in the fingertip by specialized non-invasive biosensors. This innovative approach provides office-based access to medical data previously reserved for high-tech labs by Itamar’s FDA cleared & CE marked PAT-based products.’
Watch-PAT: a ‘wearable’ sleep lab
Breathing-related sleep disorders affect overall health. Sleep apnoea sufferers are at increased risk of death, disease and disability. Yet, although the problem is as common as asthma, most sufferers go undiagnosed because they avoid medical advice and sleep labs.
Itamar explains that the wrist-mounted Watch-PAT200 can be used by patients in their own beds. ‘The device provides a comprehensive, automatically generated sleep report, covering multiple parameters about sleep-related breathing disorders (RDI, AHI, ODI, calculated on sleep time rather than examination time), as well as sleep architecture (REM/Deep Sleep/Light Sleep/Wake stages) and snoring and body position channels. It is validated by over 100 publications and abstracts, providing a perfect combination of natural sleep with sophisticated data.’
Endo-PAT: assessing cardiovascular risk
Dubbed ‘the ultimate risk among risk factors’ for over a decade, endothelial function has been recognised by physicians as the critical junction between risk factors and clinical disease. Today, many clinicians see atherosclerosis as the clinical manifestation of endothelial dysfunction.
The Endo-PAT2000 is a non-invasive, easy-to-use, user-independent medical device that assesses endothelial function, the manufacturer explains. ‘The 15-minute, office-based test provides immediate, reliable and reproducible results. It has been validated by nearly 100 publications and abstracts, and is used in eminent clinical institutions, research centres and pharmaceutical studies. The Endo-PAT2000 is becoming widely recognised as the standard methodology for endothelial function assessment and is part of the universal efforts to arrest progression of the CVD pandemic.’
29.10.2008
