Technology Brief

For further information, contact Lori-Anne Neiger

A system for wireless monitoring of vital signs in conscious small animals during MRI

Description:

A wireless monitoring system capable of measuring physiological parameters of a conscious subject in a strong magnetic field, such as an MRI.

The system consists of an apparatus, consisting of a sensor and a wireless transmitter, placed upon the test subject that emits a digital signal representative of the physiological parameter (e.g., electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, electromyogram, electrooculogram, pulse oximetry, respiration, blood pressure, or temperature) to a wireless computer. The computer receives the digitized signal and creates a real-time graph of the vital sign, with the ability to further analyze the data. This technology has the ability to measure the vital parameters of a conscious small animal in a strong magnetic field of 0.5 Tesla or more, which are precisely the conditions of magnetic resonance imaging systems (MRI).

Technical & Commercial Merit:

Magnetic resonance imagining (MRIs) is a popular method for non-invasively investigating and diagnosing various diseases, as evident in the 18 million MRI’s performed every year in the United States. Furthermore, medical research is increasingly conducting MRI studies on conscious animals in order to garner additional valuable data. The strong magnetic field and background interference of MRI has previously interfered with systems attempting to measure vital signs of a conscious test subject. Thus, there is interest in a system capable of measuring the complete physiological signs of a conscious animal in a strong magnetic field. The current wireless monitoring system is designed to circumvent these prior difficulties as it is able to measure the vital parameters of a conscious subject in a strong magnetic field.

Competitive Advantage:

This technology is useful for researchers and medical professionals who need to monitor physiological vital signs in an environment containing a strong magnetic field, such as the conditions existing during a MRI. Previous methods of monitoring vital signals in a conscious subject during high-field MRI environments were impractical, not able to function in a strong magnetic field, and provided a limited number of physiological parameters. This new technology is compact, lightweight, and self-contained, which allows the system to effectively operate with reduced components and power requirements. Another advantageous feature of this system is that the technology can be placed upon the conscious test subject in a non-invasive manner. This allows the small animal to move about freely and unencumbered without the stress (and resultant changes in vital signs and extraneous deviations in data) associated with previous technologies. By combining the data from MRI and the concurrent vital signs of a conscious subject, one can bring forth innovative information in these areas.