Non-Invasive BP Monitor Provides Beat-To-Beat Readings

Research Triangle Park, NC — SunTech Medical, Inc. asserts that a breakthrough in physiological monitoring is about to take center stage as Empirical Technologies prepares "BPGuardian™" for commercial deployment. Empirical's BPGuardian makes it possible to monitor blood pressure beat-by-beat and non-invasively without discomfort, using a portable device worn on the wrist. Information from the sensor is then sent via a Bluetooth connection to a nearby computer or handheld device, such as a PDA.

Initial prototype development, testing and evaluation for the device was made possible by Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) grants provided in 2005 and 2006 through the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC) at California State University, San Bernardino. Encouraged by positive early test results, SunTech Medical acquired an equity position in Empirical Technologies Corporation this past March. The two firms are now collaborating to introduce a clinical blood pressure monitor that measures, with every heart beat, aortic pressure at the wrist.

Company sources claim that interest continues to grow in the initial product, BPGuardian, which was recently used in a dialysis clinic to monitor blood pressure beat-to-beat. The Naval Health Research Center in San Diego is interested in using BPGuardian as a research tool for stress physiology and its relation to combat stress disorders. Several Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories are evaluating the device, as are several research hospitals. Ongoing studies include work in blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, hypertension in adults and children, inexpensive aneurysm detection and other clinical areas.

SOURCE: SunTech Medical, Inc.