Non-invasive Continuous Hemodynamic Monitor

Emergency departments, trauma centers, and military field physicians have a critical need for a simple, easy-to-use, and reliable method of monitoring the onset of hemorrhagic shock that is able to predict onset during the compensatory phase, before syncope and cardiac collapse signaled by a rapid drop in blood pressure. In collaboration with Dr. Michael Joyner"s laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, RMD is developing a near infrared capillary blood flow measurement system (CapFlowTM), based upon diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), that will predict shock onset. In its final configuration this will be a small innocuous patch that wirelessly communicates with a remote station and noninvasively monitors physiological status, assessing soldier health either in the field or in an emergency/ triage setting. Using the lower body negative pressure model in humans in Phase I we will: 1. provide proof-of-principle of the value of using DCS blood flow measurement as a shock predictor; 2. determine the depth beneath the skin where blood flow correlates most strongly with cardiac output; and 3. determine the"best"site for attaching the DCS probe to the skin.