An Innovative Glove Measures Blood Flow in the Prostate

A second generation prototype sensor for measuring blood flow in the prostate gland during the digital rectal examination (DRE) could potentially help direct the treatment of millions of men with indeterminate prostate specific antigen (PSA) results.

The Urodynamix near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) DRE system is designed to enhance the traditional DRE procedure by capturing data that will improve the clinicians' ability to detect prostate cancer and other diseases of the prostate such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The system consists of a miniaturized single-use disposable sensor and pressure transducer with a console containing proprietary NIRS hardware and software. The sensor is designed to be embedded within an exam glove as a self contained, single use disposable test kit that allows the clinician to measure blood flow as he or she examines the prostate. The procedure is otherwise identical to a conventional DRE. The Urodynamix NIRS DRE system is under development by Urodynamix (Vancouver Island, Canada).

"The technology could provide primary care physicians with the ability to monitor changes in prostate cancer disease progression and assess prostate vascularity in BPH and prostatitis,” said by Dr. Zeid Mohamedali, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator of the prototype and a member of the Urodynamix board of directors. "Since NIRS DRE technology can be integrated into the existing office DRE procedure, it could also help reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies performed every year.”

The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and the digital rectal exam (DRE) are currently used to detect and manage prostate cancer, but these techniques suffer from a lack of specificity and selectivity. The traditional DRE has poor accuracy for the detection of prostate cancer, with published sensitivity values ranging between 18% and 68%.


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