Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.

University of Delaware

Ryan Senger

John L Robertson

Pang Du

Eleftherios Terry Papoutsakis

A system and method for monitoring the health of dialysis patients with Raman spectroscopy measurements of one or more target analytes is described. The methods include irradiating one or more fluids of interest with light to produce one or more spectrum and detecting the spectrum with a detector. The fluids of interest are preferably those related to dialysis, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. In a preferred embodiment, the fluids are irradiated with monochromatic light, and one or more Raman spectra are detected as a result of the irradiation. The fluids may be irradiated within the dialysis tubing itself, or removed from the dialysis tubing and irradiated in a separate chamber. The Raman spectra of one or more target analytes of a dialysis patient may be followed over time or compared to one or more reference spectra, thereby providing information on the health of dialysis patients.

System and method for monitoring the health of dialysis patients

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is characterized by the progressive loss of renal function which eventually leads to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). CKD affects roughly 30 million Americans, costs billions of dollars in healthcare spending annually, and leaves thousands of patients reliant on burdensome dialysis treatments while waiting for a transplant. Fortunately, CKD may be controllable if diagnosed early in the disease progression. RAMETRIX™ is a novel public health screening technology for early diagnosis and detection of CKD. This technology uses Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics to analyze the molecular composition of urine and other biological fluids. RAMETRIX™ is a fast, non-invasive, accurate, and inexpensive diagnostic tool that can revolutionize the way healthcare providers detect and treat CKD. The RAMETRIX™ AutoScanner is a system enabling more efficient sample processing in large-scale settings such as hospitals and medical laboratories.

Method and system for high-throughput screening

The present invention is a system to continuously monitor, in real-time, the small molecules being dialyzed during hemodialysis treatment using Raman spectroscopy and press control algorithms. By monitoring the treatment, the amount of water needed per dialysis treatment is drastically reduced by optimizing analyte saturation and removal of wastes. This will significantly conserve water and reduce the cost of dialysis treatments, possibly reducing the amount of time necessary for dialysis treatment, improving quality of life for patients during and after treatment, and reducing the costs of building new treatment centers as well as operating costs.

Dialysis systems and methods for modulating flow of a dialysate during dialysis using Raman spectroscopy

A genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction for(ATCC 824) was created using a new semi-automated reverse engineering algorithm. This invention includes algorithms and software that can reconstruct genome-scale metabolic networks for cell-types available through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. This method can also be used to complete partial metabolic networks and cell signaling networks where adequate starting information base is available. The software may use a semi-automated approach which uses a priori knowledge of the cell-type from the user. Upon completion, the program output is a genome-scale stoichiometric matrix capable of cell growth in silico. The invention also includes methods for developing flux constraints and reducing the number of possible solutions to an under-determined system by applying specific proton flux states and identifying numerically-determined sub-systems. Although the model-building and analysis tools described in this invention were initially applied to, the novel algorithms and software can be applied universally.

Reverse engineering genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions for organisms with incomplete genome annotation and developing constraints using proton flux states and numerically-determined sub-systems

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Blacksburg, VA, United States of America

Ryan Senger