Early detection of heart attacks aided by gold nanoparticles

NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering professors have been collaborating with researchers from Peking University on a new test strip that is demonstrating great potential for the early detection of certain heart attacks.

Kurt H. Becker, a professor in the Department of Applied Physics and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and WeiDong Zhu, a research associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, are helping develop a new colloidal gold test strip for cardiac troponin I (cTn-I) detection. The new strip uses microplasma-generated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and shows much higher detection sensitivity than conventional test strips. The new cTn-I test is based on the specific immune-chemical reactions between antigen and antibody on immunochromatographic test strips using AuNPs.

Compared to AuNPs produced by traditional chemical methods, the surfaces of the gold nanoparticles generated by the microplasma-induced liquid chemical process attract more antibodies, which results in significantly higher detection sensitivity.

cTn-I is a specific marker for myocardial infarction. The cTn-I level in patients experiencing myocardial infarction is several thousand times higher than in healthy people. The early detection of cTn-I is therefore a key factor of heart attack diagnosis and therapy.

The use of microplasmas to generate AuNP is yet another application of the microplasma technology developed by Becker and Zhu. Microplasmas have been used successfully in dental applications (improved bonding, tooth whitening, root canal disinfection), biological decontamination (inactivation of microorganisms and biofilms), and disinfection and preservation of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The microplasma-assisted synthesis of AuNPs has great potential for other biomedical and therapeutic applications such as tumor detection, cancer imaging, drug delivery, and treatment of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The routine use of gold nanoparticles in therapy and disease detection in patients is still years away: longer for therapeutic applications and shorter for biosensors. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the fact that the synthesis of monodisperse, size-controlled gold nanoparticles, even using microplasmas, is still a costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process, which limits their use currently to small-scale clinical studies, Becker explained.

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/288143.php

 

Researchers develop a new distance rehabilitation system for patients with heart pathologies

A team of Spanish researchers of the Universitat Politècnica de València, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the company Medtronic have participated in the development of a new distance heart rehabilitation system based on physical exercise routines for people affected by heart pathologies.

The system is designed for both chronic patients and the recovery of people who have suffered a heart event (for instance, a heart attack) or if they have had heart surgery. In any of these cases, it helps patients to exercise and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

HeartCycle GEx has been developed within the European project HeartCycle. This system creates an online connection between the cardiologist in the hospital and the patients in their homes. The latter, equipped with sensorized t-shirts, do the rehabilitation exercises while their mobile telephones receive all the information about their heart and respiration rate, and messages to make more or less effort according to the doctor’s instructions, etc.

Its main advantage is its ability to motivate patients; GEx helps patients follow the rehabilitation program in an easier and more entertaining way. To that end, GEx incorporates multimedia content, an avatar, as well as graphic information about the indicators related to the patient’s performance (heart rate, effort level, etc).

“The Achilles’ heel of heart rehabilitation is that patients abandon it in a few weeks, so its effect is watered down. If the user is motivated, the level of compliance will increase and their health will improve. The most important aspect is to improve adherence to the rehabilitation plan and maintain it over time, and this system does just that”, explains Alvaro Martínez, researcher at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València.

In addition, GEx will be connected to the hospital information systems in order to guarantee optimum, personalised health care for the patient. The system enables each user’s condition to be monitored and the response to the instructed therapy assessed, so personalised plans can be created and any deterioration in health status that requires immediate intervention can be detected.

The doctor has a web application in which to program the personalised rehabilitation plan that is sent to the patient – the prescribed plan is adapted to the patient’s physical condition, who performs an effort test – to design the most suitable prescription possible.

“Every time the patient does one of the exercises, the system sends new data, so the doctor can immediately determine whether the patient’s effort meets the standard set and make adjustments to the prescription if necessary”, adds Alvaro Martínez.

This doctor’s web application was entirely developed at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València.

“Today, the heart rehabilitation programs in Spain take place in hospitals or specialized centres. HeartCycle GEx is a different and convenient alternative to access to those programs since the patients can follow them anywhere, even at home, maintaining the level of health care that they receive”, says Cecilia Vera, researcher at the Life Supporting Technologies Group of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Validation in hospitals

GEx has been validated with 132 patients at three hospitals in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom and, according to the tests performed, it provides better results than traditional rehabilitation programs, “This improvement is seen in the patient’s functional capacity, as well as in weight loss and a reduction in cholesterol levels”, says Alvaro Martínez.

“HeartCycle GEx is an initial step to the new heart rehabilitation systems of the future, providing personalised solutions, adapted to each patient and accessible from any location”, adds Cecilia Vera.

The results have been released in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Adapted by MNT from original media release

Picture courtesy of medicalxpress.com.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287370.php