Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (ACS) is a common and life-threatening condition that occurs in the abdomen following traumatic, hemorrhagic, surgical or vascular injuries.

Urodynamix is developing NIRS technology to monitor and detect increases in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and allow earlier intervention to prevent complications due to ACS.

Continuous, Non-Invasive IAP Monitoring

   Accurate and timely assessment of IAP is

   crucial to the diagnosis and management

   of many ICU patients, and there is a  

   critical need for safe, rapid, accurate and

   cost-effective techniques to continuously 

   monitor abdominal pressure and ischemia

   in order to improve diagnosis and 

   treatment of ACS.

   Urodynamix's NIRS IAP Technology is

   designed to provide a continuous, non-

   invasive IAP monitoring technology for

   integration into patient monitoring

   equipment to reduce the cost, morbidity

   and mortality associated with IAP and ACS.

NIRS IAP Technology

Urodynamix beleives that its NIRS IAP Technology will allow critical care practitioners to track IAP like a vital sign and identify pathological increases in IAP earlier, alerting caregivers to the onset of ACS and improving patient outcomes. 

An automated, non-invasive IAP monitor would allow hospitals to increase productivity and control ICU costs by reducing or eliminating the need for manual, time-consuming catheter-based IAP measurements.

Urodynamix believes that its NIRS platform technology is uniquely suited to address the unmet need for a continuous, non-invasive IAP monitor, and that it is well-positioned to capitalize upon the significant market opportunity for IAP monitoring modules and consumable sensors for ICU patients. There is also be a significant need for continuous IAP monitoring in cardiac, GI and orthopaedic surgical recovery units, and emergency departments.

According to the American Hospital Association, there are approximately 60,000 adult ICU beds in the United States and over 4 million adult ICU admissions per year.

Clinical Studies

In a preliminary clinical study of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients at Foothills Medical Center in Calgary, the Company’s prototype NIRS device was used to continuously record data from the abdominal wall of patients at risk of ACS over 24 hours. Spot IAP measurements were also recorded from the bladder using conventional invasive techniques. The study demonstrated that the NIRS technique is completely safe over long periods of monitoring and a significant association was found between the NIRS readings and changes in IAP with a significance level of 0.992 (p = 0.008).

Abstract presented at the Trauma Association of Canada Annual Scientific Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, May 10-12, 2007.

URO-NIRS is currently under clinical investigations and not available for commercial sale. See our NIRS technology section for additional details and our commercialization process for the technology.

Abdominal Compartment Syndrome

• Published data indicate that elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) may arise in up to 50% of trauma intensive care unit patients, and is therefore a condition that should be monitored in all ICU patients: one study of a mixed ICU population showed that 32% of trauma patients developed pathologic increases in IAP and over 4% developed ACS on the first ICU day [1].

• If undiagnosed and untreated, ACS results in necrosis, organ failure and death.  Even when it is diagnosed and treated, the mortality rate of ACS is reported to range from 50 to 83%.

• The diagnosis of ACS requires a high index of suspicion and familiarity with its presenting signs, however, physical examination alone is not an accurate indicator of the syndrome in critically ill patients.

• ACS can develop quickly even when there is no primary abdominal injury.  Trauma, burn, post-operative and medical ICUs tend to have a higher incidence of ACS.

• Current diagnostic procedures rely on manual, intermittent and highly invasive catheter or needle-based IAP measurements.

[1] Malbrain, ML et al. Incidence and prognosis of intraabdominal hypertension in a mixed population of critically ill patients: A multiple-center epidemiological study. Crit Care Med. 2005;33:315–322.

Suggested Further Reading and References