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Novel medical device inventions use light to monitor blood pressure and track progress of cancer treatment – ​​critical care

Image: This handheld scanner is moved over breast tissue to monitor how well breast cancer tumors respond to chemotherapy or radiation treatment (Photo courtesy of Boston University)

Image: This handheld scanner is moved over breast tissue to monitor how well breast cancer tumors respond to chemotherapy or radiation treatment (Photo courtesy of Boston University)

Conventional blood pressure monitors often leave room for human error. To address this problem, scientists at Boston University (Boston, MA, USA) have developed a new blood pressure monitoring device based on optical speckle contrast spectroscopy. This technology uses multiple wavelengths of light, ranging from visible to near infrared (NIR), to monitor blood pressure. The device is worn by clipping it over your finger and strapping it around your wrist. The team’s initial, unpublished results show that the device continuously and accurately measured blood pressure in 30 people over several weeks. According to the researchers, measuring blood pressure every 15 minutes over 24 hours and averaging the results provides much greater accuracy than a single measurement in a doctor’s office. This technology is also more effective at predicting risks such as stroke, heart attack and cardiovascular disease.

In addition, researchers are working on a new tool to monitor how breast cancer tumors respond to chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Despite advances in treatment options, some breast cancer cases do not respond or respond only partially to chemotherapy. Existing surveillance methods such as mammography, ultrasound and MRI are not particularly effective in determining the likelihood that a tumor will respond to treatment. The new device measures metrics such as the concentration and ratio of oxygenated to deoxygenated red blood cells and can thus predict whether a tumor is likely to shrink. As physicians increasingly provide treatment prior to surgical removal of breast cancer tumors, real-time monitoring of tumor response offers significant potential benefits. Real-time tracking of tumor shrinkage during treatment could help tailor treatment plans for breast cancer patients.

Scientists have tested the device, which works similarly to a handheld ultrasound scanner that moves over breast tissue, in clinical settings and plan to further evaluate its effectiveness next year. Ultimately, they aim to make the device smaller and portable so patients can use it at home and send results directly to their doctor, eliminating the need for in-person appointments. Although there is still much to learn and test, the possibilities of this technology are enormous. The team is also developing a range of other optical technologies, including one to monitor dialysis for kidney disease and an early-stage device to treat scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes skin inflammation and fibrosis, to track the effectiveness of treatments in reducing internal fibrosis Area where no such monitoring tools currently exist.

“One of the most important things I think we do is as we develop these technologies, we talk to a lot of physicians, understand their unmet needs, and help understand whether our technologies could help,” said Darren Roblyer, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University College of Engineering, who leads the team. “I hope this work has a real impact on patients’ lives.”

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