New wearable that tracks blood flow to the brain

[kushami]

Very exciting work, but why only one person tested? I’m concerned by this. Rigorous scientists generally don’t advertise the results from one person when it would be quite easy to replicate the experiment. So let’s stay tuned for more data.

It is a poster presentation, and this type of very preliminary, less formal publication style is considered appropriate in that context. Posters are aimed at generating discussion or airing ideas, especially at conferences. Other less formal publications include case studies, research letters, and letters to the editor.

Apart from sharing something the authors are excited about, this is a way for them to get other scientists interested and inspired to study the same topic. I imagine they could also use the poster to help them make funding applications to do a peer-reviewed study with a suitable number of subjects and controls, not because results from one person mean anything, but by demonstrating how their idea can work and its potential.

The authors state in the Discussion section: “This is a n-of-1 proof of concept study. A subsequent larger study is being planned to verify this phenomenon in more individuals experiencing PEM.”

 

[kushami]

Financial asistance applications are open now. If you signed up to be on the email list, you should have had a notification. If you didn’t, but are interested, details are here:
https://us21.list-manage.com/survey?u=2113bd09885b19f0c11d1a14e&id=309113411d

Apllications are open until August 24, 2024. US 50 States residents only.

This is just the first round of financial assistance. There will probably be further application opportunities, depending on how it goes and future donations.

Also, keep in mind that the company plans to release a medical version of the device once the health wearable version is established. Presumably this will be a device that can be loaned out like a Holter monitor, or used to take readings regularly at your doctor’s office. It may even become possible to purchase one for home use, like you can now purchase a blood pressure monitor.

That part is all some years in the future, but as Dr Peter Rowe said, “It’s the missing vital sign”.

All very exciting and I wish it were all here right now

 

[kushami]

In a recent webinar, the co-founder mentioned that the staff have begun work on a submission to the FDA for a medical diagnostic version of the device. This work is at a preliminary stage, but is exciting because it will lead to a medical version that can be used in autonomic laboratories and specialists’ offices as well as perhaps being lent out like a Holter monitor.

The webinar also showed the research version of the device, which has a long battery life and is not linked to a smartphone app. Scientists will be able to use this version for research, and indeed a few scientists and specialists have already dipped a toe in the water and are keen to do more.

It is a fairly long webinar and I haven’t watched it all. These were just the snippets that caught my attention.

 

[kushami]

September 2024 newsletter

Highlights:

Lumia staff have been invited to speak at the American Autonomic Society symposium

Dr Satish Raj and his team at the University of Calgary have taken delivery of a Lumia research system and will be using it to investigate POTS and Long COVID

Everyone who signed up for devices in the first take-up should receive their device by the end of the year

 

[kushami]

I wish more for one of these gadgets every day … sigh.

I had a doctor’s appointment last week, and felt awful afterwards. I would have loved to have known whether my cerebral blood flow fell, because then I could perhaps have increased my vasodilator medication. But without that knowledge, I didn’t feel confident to do so because I might accidentally over medicate and go too far in the other direction.

Maybe Superman could come and stare into my head with his x-ray vision in the meantime?

 

[kushami]

Also, I always feel rotten first thing in the morning. Is that because my cerebral blood flow is low, even though I’ve been lying in bed?

May change name to Lois.

 

[wabi-sabi]

Also, I always feel rotten first thing in the morning.

This is typical with dysautonomia and orthostatic intolerance.

https://normalyte.com/blogs/news/mo...4kEWLfLoC50D2GZyOiZeDUwcIOIC3U2smQc1xUB-ENGHo

 

[kushami]

This is typical with dysautonomia and orthostatic intolerance.

https://normalyte.com/blogs/news/mo...4kEWLfLoC50D2GZyOiZeDUwcIOIC3U2smQc1xUB-ENGHo

I should have been a bit more specific – I feel rotten the moment I open my eyes, even before moving or sitting up. My problem seems to be circadian, and my symptoms have followed a strict timetable for 20 years. I do feel worse if I stand still, cook or wash dishes during the day, so OI definitely plays a part, but it’s on top of everything else.

So I would be interested to know if my blood flow is low even when I’m lying flat in bed after a night’s sleep.

Probably of no interest to anyone else – just feeling sorry for myself this evening

 

[Donsboig]

I feel rotten the moment I open my eyes, even before moving or sitting up.

@kushami I might have mentioned this before but this is a key symptom for me. Ivabradine and other pots drugs helped it a bit, but the big surprise for me was being diagnosed with sleep apnea! An indicator of sleep apnea is waking headaches.

I never considered myself a likely apnea candidate (partner occasionally complained of snoring but nothing serious, and my weight is normal and I'm in my 30s) but a sleep doctor suggested testing for it due to my morning headaches. They found I had breathing issues 19 times per hour, every 3 minutes or so! CPAP therapy has improved my symptoms a bit, enough that I definitely consider it worth continuing with. Might be something to consider testing for if you haven't already?

 

[wabi-sabi]

I feel rotten the moment I open my eyes, even before moving or sitting up. My problem seems to be circadian,

Yes, I have this too. There is a circadian rhythm to orthostatic intolerance symptoms. You dehydrate overnight when you are asleep and wake up feeling bad. I don't start feeling alive until late afternoon or early evening on a really bad day.

Of course, sleep apnea might be going on too as @Donsboig suggests. Hopefully I can get tested for this soon, if the insurance will only pay!

 

[kushami]

The Lumia folk are continuing to work on the diagnostic/medical accreditation aspect of the technology. They have decided to create a cerebral blood flow measurement option that works in conjunction with a NASA lean test, and will be submitting this to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They don't know yet whether this option will be added to the current set-up (earpiece and app) or whether the FDA will ask for it to be separate.

I suspect it will need to be available separately, ultimately, otherwise it will be hard for it to be used for diagnosis.

There is a new video, but it's mostly addressing clip-on options for the earpiece and other information for current users, so I wouldn't particularly recommend watching it.

Of more interest is this review article on the whys and hows of measuring cerebral blood flow, which describes and compares various techniques for measuring cerebral blood flow:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.124.036752

The Lumia technology is discussed under the heading "Wearable pulse-wave analysis". Another product is mentioned too, called FloPatch, but it seems to be focused on measuring the carotid artery pulse in order to help doctors assess the fluid status of patients with sepsis.

https://flosonicsmedical.com/

 

[Donsboig]

Thanks for the update. If Lumia was available in the UK I'd be interested in trying it

 

[kushami]

@Donsboig, I wonder which country or region will be first to get it outside the US. Canada perhaps, as it is nearby for shipping purposes and there is a small but important autonomic research community. But the population is low. I might guess Europe, but the stricter privacy and medical data legislation might be a barrier.

Maybe it would be easier to make a more basic medical version with no smart phone required, but then they would need to manufacture a handset/display thingie. I’m thinking of more like a home blood pressure monitor - attach measurement part to body, take reading or series of readings, see them on screen, write them down or store in memory, take off and put away.

Edit: Just realised they must be doing something like that already with the research version, which doesn't use a smart phone. Perhaps it downloads directly to one of those special computer programs/codes that scientists use for data and statistics.

 

[kushami]

There is a newsletter out with a summary of research underway or soon to be underway. And some interesting photos. Scroll down to the heading "Summer of Discovery: Research Kicking Off".

https://mailchi.mp/lumiahealth.com/...RY1IGJZCTDGTSWbL-Q_aem_XbeEpwDEA24ceo4Jdc24Sw