Dialog Devices Ltd.

Article preview from Start-Up - June, 2013

 The Vascular Early Warning System from UK-based Dialog Devices Ltd. is a portable, handheld device to scan patients for peripheral arterial disease quickly in a primary care physician’s office. The automated functional test can be performed in about 10 minutes and improves upon the ankle brachial pressure index, which is the current first-line examination for suspected PAD.

Dialog Devices Ltd.

Article preview from Start-Up - June, 2013

The Vascular Early Warning System (VEWS) from UK-based Dialog Devices Ltd. is a portable, handheld device to scan patients for peripheral vascular disease quickly in the convenience of a primary care physician’s office. VEWS, now being sold in Europe, uses adhesive red and infrared sensors that are placed on the toe and the foot to detect blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of tissue. The automated functional test can be performed in about 10 minutes and is designed to improve on the ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI), which is the current first-line examination for suspect peripheral artery disease (PAD). ABPI compares the blood pressure in both arms with the pressure in both legs, and is similar to taking four, sequential, blood-pressure readings using compression cuffs; however, VEWS “does not employ cuffs,” says company chairman Alan Edwards.

The electronic portion of VEWS incorporates proprietary software that processes the signals into a readable measurement. The device is also appropriate for use in hospitals (inpatient and outpatient) and clinics. Moreover, VEWS can detect PAD even when the arteries are calcified and hardened, “something that cannot be detected with an ABPI,” says Edwards, who notes that this condition often affects the diabetic and the renal failure populations. “Patients with PAD also frequently have problems with blood flow elsewhere, such as the coronary arteries around the heart and in the cerebral vessels in the neck,” he explains. “It is the blockages in the coronary and cerebral systems that represent the greatest risk to patients for myocardial infarction and stroke.”

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