Lachesis Aims To Take The Pressure Down

28 Sep 2010
A cuffless, compact, wearable device that can monitor heart rate, blood oxygen levels and blood pressure simultaneously has been named finalist in The University of Queensland Business School's $100,000 Enterprize business planning competition. The Lachesis Vital Signs Monitor, developed by a research team based at University of Technology Sydney, will help bridge the gap between automated blood pressure monitors and ambulatory blood pressure monitors. With an estimated 200 million people diagnosed with hypertension, the primary risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease which is the number one cause of death globally, the Lachesis team identified the need for a device that addresses the life threatening condition while reducing the overall cost to the healthcare system. According to Lachesis Project Manager Martin Lloyd the device has the ability to provide more useful clinical data for the diagnosis and management of hypertension and some cardiovascular conditions. "Lachesis is a disruptive technology that uses sophisticated computer algorithms to determine blood pressure and blood oxygen levels. "Following patient testing the information can be transmitted to a smart phone application, a purpose made data recording unit or to a computer which in turn can automatically be sent to a doctor," said Martin. Developed four years ago Martin said Lachesis, meaning Measurer of Lifeblood in ancient Greek Mythology, would offer opportunities for personal health monitoring beyond what is achievable today. "It has the potential to overcome many of the current device limitations and the wireless, remote functionality would allow medical staff to monitor their patients without the need for repetitive manual testing." Martin said the $100,000 prize offered in the UQBS Enterprize competition would enable Lachesis to continue towards commercialisation. "The prize money would give us the opportunity to accelerate our research and development phase and would allow us to turn the technology into a product that could help saves lives and improve people's health. "Regardless of the outcome, Enterprize has already helped benefit our product as the application process forced us to focus on the business opportunity and how we translate the technology into a product that is on the market," he concluded. Lachesis will compete against six other national finalists for the $100,000 prize at the UQ Business School Enterprize Pitch Day on Wednesday 20 October. Enterprize is a national business planning competition organised by UQ Business School to showcase innovative products and business models amongst potential investors. The Enterprize competition is proudly supported by i.lab Incubator, an organisation that aims to accelerate the growth of commercially sound, early stage technology ventures. i.lab is celebrating its tenth year in 2010 and has assisted over 100 companies progress from the start up phase to commercialisation. For more information, entry requirements or to enter Enterprize please visit www.enterprize.uq.edu.au.

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