Transdermal H2S Sensing Device for Monitoring Peripheral Artery Disease

Project Summary/Abstract The proposed effort addresses an unmet need for early diagnosis of peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is a disorder of vascular circulation that affects more than 8 million Americans, most of whom are unaware of its existence, risks, and threats. PAD is caused primarily by plaque-induced atherosclerosis and in some instances by blood vessel inflammation, stenosis, and injury to the limbs. It is a debilitating, underdiagnosed, undertreated, and poorly understood complication in many diseases including diabetes, sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome. Patients with PAD are 3 to 6 times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than are patients without PAD. People with PAD have impaired function, including those who are asymptomatic,and experience a significant decline in lower-extremity functioning over time, often leading to critical limb ischemia (CLI), heart attack, and stroke. PAD is difficult to detect in the early stages, requires expensive equipment and trained technicians to