Nutrition Monitor for Patients at Risk of Malnutrition

A hand-held, portable indirect calorimeter is designed for monitoring nutrition in patients, particularly those with diseases or disorders that place them at risk of malnutrition. These include patients with heart disease, burns, trauma, obstructive lung disease, infection, cancer, and AIDS. The device measures respiratory airflow and oxygen uptake and determines resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories a person burns per day at rest.

Called MedGem Indirect Calorimeter, the device was developed by HealtheTech, Inc. (Golden, CO, USA), based on proprietary, patented sensor technology. The company says the device serves a large unmet need for accurate, individualized nutrition monitoring in a variety of channels throughout the healthcare system. MedGem has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"A simple portable device like this is long overdue and should enhance our ability to provide the appropriate nutrition for each individual patient on a routine basis,” said George L. Black, M.D., Ph.D., Daniel Abraham Chair in Nutrition Medicine, Harvard Business School (Cambridge, MA, USA).




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