UW researcher creating device to measure your risk for heart failure in 20 minutes
Posted Mar 24, 2018 07:20:08 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new device is being developed that could help easily detect whether you’re at risk of heart failure.
You will be able to do the test from the comfort of your home, and receive the results in 20 minutes, thanks to Mitacs researcher at the University of Waterloo, Yael Zilberman-Simakov.
It would work similarly to a glucose meter and cost roughly the same amount.
All you need is a single drop of blood to measure the amount of protein called BNP, which is one of the indicators of heart failure.
“There are about 600,000 Canadians diagnosed with heart disease and heart failure,” says Zilberman-Simakov. “There are 50,000 new cases every year that are diagnosed with heart failure.”
She adds this device can make a real difference.
“The goal is to help society, and to help the people with chronic heart failure, and for them to live better and longer.”
It’s currently in the development phase, but if all goes according to plan, it should be available to the public sometime in 2019.
