The Hindu Business Line : US co develops device to monitor autonomic nervous system

Medical aid
The hand-held, battery-run device can be operated by non-medical staff also. It measures the ANS status in 5-7 minutes
The ANSiscope can help the doctor focus on probable implications.

AN ANSISCOPE

Hyderabad , April 20

An electrocardiogram gives a picture of the health of the heart. The signal can also be used to read the state of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which connects all the organs in the human body.

To monitor the ANS, unusual changes in which can indicate problems with important organs like the heart, a simple device called ANSiscope, has been developed by a medical start-up called DyAnsys Inc.

Promoted by Mr Srini Nageshwar, a non-resident Indian and five others in San Franscisco, DyAnsys Inc has set-up an Indian subsidiary in Chennai, which has manufactured and sold about 100 units so far. It is priced about Rs 25,000 and is targeted at the General Practitioner (GP), said Mr Nageshwar, who is the Chief Executive Officer.

Its first big application has come in diabetes for the detection of a complication called diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN). By early screening and detection of dysfunction in DAN, it could be possible to take steps to prevent damage to organs like the heart, kidney etc., which diabetes tends to impact, he told newspersons here on Tuesday.

The hand-held, battery-run device can be operated by non-medical staff also. It measures the ANS status in 5-7 minutes. The company has a US patent on the product. With the American Diabetes Association, making it mandatory to screen autonomic neuropathy in type 2 diabetic patients, the product is expected to gain acceptance in the US and other markets, he said. Like a thermometer which records a person's body temperature during fever and indicates a possible health problem, the ANSiscope monitors the ANS and can help the doctor focus on probable implications.