• Early detection of arterial wall stiffness
• Biological age of arteries
• Information regarding efficacy of treatment choices
• A tool to monitor the arterial wall response to lifestyle changes / reduction of cardiovascular risk factors

DPA measurement

Digital Pulse Analyzer (DPA) - Heart Rate Variability

The DPA now has an added software feature that measures Heart Rate Variability. Decreased HRV implies decreased ability to respond to changes in the environment. Too much consistency in heart rate (less variability) is often associated with dysfunction and disease. The DPA software analyzes imperceptible changes in the heart rate waveforms, provides indices and evaluates the current body condition and activities/balances of the autonomic nervous system.

Low HRV has been shown in numerous longitudinal studies to be related to a higher mortality rate in both healthy and unhealthy subjects. It thus can be shown to be a strong predicator of all-cause mortality. The heart is not just a simple pump, but a complex sensory organ with its own functional "heart brain" that communicates with and influences the brain via the nervous system, hormonal system and other pathways.

Research has shown that these influences profoundly affect brain function and most of the body's major organs. Science now confirms that stress significantly increases the risk of heart disease, including sudden cardiac death. Unmanaged emotional stress is equally if not more important than physical variables in determining health outcomes. A conservative estimate is that 75% of visits to primary care physicians are due to stress-related disorders.

Cardiovascular-related issues are not the only uses for the DPA. Psychologists are increasingly recognizing the importance of HRV. A number of studies have demonstrated that patients with anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) consistently show lower HRV, even when not exposed to a trauma related prompt. Importantly, this relationship existed independent of age, gender, trait anxiety, cardio-respiratory fitness, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate.

What is an arterial pulse wave?

The pulse wave is a physiological phenomenon, observable and measurable in the arterial system during blood circulation. During one heart systole a certain blood volume is expelled. This propagates through the arteries due to the reciprocal transformation between kinetic energy of a segment of the expelled blood volume and the potential energy of a stretched segment of the resilient vascular wall. We can observe the changes in pressure, blood flow, velocity and profile throughout the whole pulse wave. It can be used for classification of the artery elasticity. 1

Why test for arterial elasticity?

"Aging and disease states associated with an increase in cardiovascular events alter the physical characteristics of blood vessel walls and impair the pulsatile function of the arteries. An accumulating body of evidence indicates that impaired pulsitile function of arteries provides important prognostic and therapeutic information beyond that provided by traditional blood pressure measurements." 2

"The ability to detect and monitor sub-clinical damage, representing the cumulative and integrated influence of risk factors in impairing arterial wall integrity, holds potential to further refine cardiovascular risk stratification and enable early intervention to prevent or attenuate disease progression."3

"Accumulating evidence suggest that abnormalities in the pulsatile characteristics of arteries occur early in the disease processes associated with increased cardiovascular risk, and can be favorably modified by therapeutic interventions."4

"We now know that the health of the endothelium and the blood vessels directly affects overall cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular disease kills 500,000 Americans every year in the form of heart attack and stroke. About 16 million more Americans suffer pain and disabilities caused by cardiovascular disease. Today, over 60,800,000 Americans (a quarter of the U.S. population) have one or more conditions that put them at risk for heart attack and stroke."5

"The economic costs of these vessel diseases are staggering. In 2001, the economic cost of all cardiovascular disease was approximately $298 billion, including health expenditures and lost productivity"

Waveforms Produced By The DPA

Plethysmogram (PTG) Waveform - The shape of the pulse wave is determined, in part, by the elasticity of the blood vessels. The DPA can analyze the shape of the curve to get early information about a developing arterial vascular disease. The pulse wave analysis can often detect changes very early, and is non-invasive, very easy to use, and one of the most economical techniques available today. The DPA uses a fingertip probe sensor - light from the LED/Photodiode is transmitted through the tissue at the sensor site. The Photodiode detects the changes in the amount of light absorbed by the hemoglobin which forms the PTG.

 

Accelerated Plethysmogram (APG) Waveform - The second derivative of PTG - an excellent method to evaluate the biological age of arteries.

Other Measurements With The DPA

 

• Pulse Rate
• Ejection time (Etc)
• Pulse Height (PH) - Pulse amplitude
• Ejection Elastic Index (EEI)-- indicator of Left Ventricle ejection and elasticity of large arteries
• Dicrotic Dilation Index (DDI)- indicator of small artery compliance
• Dicrotic Elastic Index (DEI) - peripheral vessel elasticity (arterioles to veins)
• Software program to measure Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
• Software program will store all patient information

DPA Advantages

 

• Early detection of arterial wall elasticity and determination of biological arterial age in less than 3 minutes
• Software program tests Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in 5 minutes
• Monitors effectiveness of therapeutic intervention
• Monitors arterial wall response to lifestyles changes / reduction of cardiovascular risk factors
• Non-invasive - uses a LED/Photodiode finger probe sensor.
• Device is FDA approved
• Lightweight and portable (12 lbs)
• User friendly
• Can be used alone (thermal printer) or interfaced with computer for storage of information
• Color printout data sheet when interfaced with user's computer/printer
• Affordable
• Revenue generator

Our technology-driven health information solutions help your organization better connect and interact with your consumers, patients, employees and plan members. We create new capabilities for our clients with technology-enhanced world-class health information that exceeds healthcare industry standards. Whether you're health professional, health plan, or independent representative, our solutions can help you: Lead consumers to your organization's products and services Help to influence appropriate utilization of healthcare services. Help to build loyal relationships with your patients/customers Integrate easily into a program, or other application. We can create new capabilities for your organization too. Learn more about our cost-effective screening device.

Easy-to-read, easy-to-interpret reports are:

 

• Relevant and trustworthy
• Engaging and effective
• Comprehensive, yet easy to use
• Help your clients see the results and effects of compliance with therapy (i.e. supplementation)
• Allow easy evaluation of the effectiveness of various therapies
• Validate and document therapeutic effects for research purposes
• The software provides a variety of graphic and tabular reports with statistical summaries.

Our technology-driven health information solutions help your organization better connect and interact with your consumers, patients, employees and plan members. We create new capabilities for our clients with technology-enhanced world-class health information that exceeds healthcare industry standards.

Whether you're health professional, health plan, or independent representative, our solutions can help you:

• Lead consumers to your organization's products and services
• Help to influence appropriate utilization of healthcare services
• Help to build loyal relationships with your patients/customers
• Integrate easily into a program, or other application

We can create new capabilities for your organization too. Learn more about our cost-effective screening device. DPA easy-to-read, easy-to-interpret reports can:

• Help your patients see the results and effects of compliance with therapy.
• Allow easy evaluation of the effectiveness of various therapies.
• Validate and document therapeutic effects for study purposes.
• The software provides a variety of graphic and tabular reports with statistical summaries.

A Powerful New Tool for Health Care Professionals

As a health care professional using the DPA?Advantage, you have a powerful new tool and advanced technology providing you with cardiovascular parameters specific to the health of arteries. In minutes, an easy-to-understand report and the precise data you require is available for identifying cardiovascular disease risk in your patients.

This non-invasive system is capable of measuring arterial compliance. The DPA?Advantage's sensitivity to early arterial changes builds highly detailed data for assessment in determining whether patients have potential underlying vascular disease, as well as developing an outline for the physician of the potential effects of patient-specific risk factors.

DPA Advantage was developed specifically for use in mobile events, clinics and tradeshow events and can easily and successfully become an important tool in your current patient recruitment& retention process.

Advanced Technology Arrives In Your Practice

The DPA?device measures a pulse waveform produced by the beating heart. Data captured by the DPA?during a patient test is analyzed and reported in just minutes to provide a clear, concise evaluation tool for health care professionals.

Arterial stiffness indices are particularly important in identifying individuals who exhibit the development of vascular disease, and enables the healthcare professional to begin appropriate treatment long before the symptoms or clinical signs appear. The DPA has many applications including:

• Hypertension
• Borderline Hypertension
• Hyperlipidemial
• Endothelial Function

Getting started: Simple, quick and painless for physician and patient

Your practice already has everything you need to begin using the DPA?today, and your patients' comfort and ease during the test is assured.

To begin the test, the appropriate patient-specific data is collected through a series of questions. As your patient rests comfortably, an arterial finger pulse sensor is placed on the left finger. The instrument's monitor displays the waveform as it is sensed. Once data is collected and analyzed, you simply print the DPA Report.

The DPA?is a portable and easy-to-use "plug and play" system that requires no additional accessories or disposable components. Enjoy the following benefits:

• Minimal capital outlay
• Low monthly payments
• Per-patient-test revenue

Reference Ranges

The reference ranges are based on a comparable set of values obtained from similar healthy subjects. It is possible that an abnormal value may be normal for you but they should be discussed with your physician as only they are qualified to make a determination as to the significance and/or make a diagnosis.

Prevention

One purpose of this screening is to prevent disease before symptoms occur. In those instances where symptoms have developed, laboratory tests results help confirm that a problem does exist. But a normal test result is just as significant as an abnormal result. A normal result does not mean that a test was unnecessary. When a result is normal, it not only helps rule out disease, but is also establishes a baseline "normal". A person's own result is the best baseline for monitoring any change that takes place in the future.

Almost everyone in this country knows about heart disease. They know the importance of prevention, detection, and treatment and the huge impact it has on people's health. But they know very little about vascular disease outside the heart.

Early Detection is Vital

In most cases, with early detection, vascular disease can be treated effectively. The DPA test is a simple screening test that may detect these potential problems, all of which are non-invasive and painless. The beauty of the screening is that it is very simple. The tests do not produce any risk or discomfort for patients, and can be done in a matter of minutes.