Imagine you or a loved one is in an accident. The emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics arrive and begin to administer aid, but are unable to determine at the scene if one of the injured has a blood clotting issue. Blood clotting, or coagulation, is an important process when platelets (a type of blood cell) and the proteins in plasma (the liquid part of blood) work together to stop the bleeding by forming a clot. Often after severe trauma, a victim’s ability to clot is often compromised, increasing the likelihood of death.
Oceanit has developed a handheld prototype, CoagPro, which determines coagulation anywhere at the point of injury (POI), to provide guidance in the administration of blood products. By using a state-of-the-art disposable cartridge, CoagPro works seamlessly with smartphone technology to provide a portable medical diagnostic system with the ability to communicate over wireless networks. In the case of an accident CoagPro would enable EMTs and paramedics to take a sample at the scene to enable them to immediately provide assistance or deliver this information wirelessly to trauma care facilities. The data provided by CoagPro would guide which blood products could be used and help manage the supply of blood products available. This can make an enormous difference in how trauma patients are treated.
Luke Joseph, Oceanit lead scientist, believes “the CoagPro has the ability to profoundly improve trauma resuscitation and potentially impact the five million lives lost annually throughout the world due to trauma.” Up to 20 percent of these lives can be saved with better control of excessive bleeding as referenced in “New Evidence in Trauma Resuscitation – is 1:1:1 the Answer?” (Perioperative Medicine, 2013).
The Oceanit handheld medical analyzer is also capable of providing additional lifesaving POI diagnostics and additional cartridge development is ongoing. Oceanit is presently integrating a second generation Coag Pro prototype in preparation for FDA testing. There are currently two patents pending on the CoagPro, one on the device and the other on the cartridge.
The technology is aplicable with any smartphone or tablet, however the iPhone platform is being used due to its robust nature and FDA compatablilty. The iPhone also promotes easily upgrading the platform to the latest model, allowing the CoagPro take advantage of smartphone technological advances.
