helping critical care patients with effective, non-invasive blood volume analysis
Many acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions require health care providers to make accurate assessments of the volume of blood in a patient’s circulatory system. But the current non-invasive and invasive standards of care for determining this are not always accurate and can put the patient at risk.
The University of Michigan has developed Dynamic Respiratory Impedance Volume Evaluation (DRIVE), a non-invasive method that monitors a patient’s circulating blood volume without the risks of a more invasive treatment. DRIVE assesses functional volume by utilizing changes in limb blood volume produced by breathing as measured by changes in impedance of the limb.
DRIVE is supported by a small wearable, wireless device that provides personalized, continuous, and easily interpreted diagnostic data for a variety of managed-care environments, from emergency room to clinic to home.
Significant Need
DRIVE will provide accurate, continuous, easily interpreted information useful for many levels of intravascular volume management care from home and clinic, to ambulance, emergency department, ICU, and general wards.
Competitive Advantage
DRIVE makes accurate, continuous, and non-invasive assessments of a patient’s circulating volume status, whether the patient is hypovolemic or hypervolemic and whether the patient will respond favorably to addition or removal of intravenous fluids.
Commercialization Path
- Intellectual Property – Patent filed
- Commercialization Strategy – Plan to license to third party
- Regulatory Pathway – Contract with a technology company to develop a wireless wearable bio-impedance device
- Engage Investors – Non-disclosure agreement signed between University of Michigan and a major bioscience company
- Product Launch Strategy – To be determined by licensee
Milestones
- Begin enrollment of subjects
- Refinement of algorithm
- Development of small profile equivalent of Biopac system for DRIVE measurement and reporting to smart devices
- Licensing
- Q316 Update: $150,000 follow-on funding, DRIVE technology developed, startup, part of New Vital Signs
