I-Corps: On-the-Go Urinalysis Optical Lab

尿液的分子含量测试是医生用于评估患者健康状况的有力工具。该过程通常在实验室进行，患者必须携带尿液样本进行测试。不幸的是，样本的收集和运输可能是一项耗时的任务，这对活动能力降低的患者造成了特别的困难。此外，肾脏健康对生活质量至关重要。不幸的是，糖尿病和高血压等健康问题是慢性肾脏疾病发展的危险因素。鉴于美国目前面临的肥胖症发病率高，这尤其成问题。糖尿病和心血管疾病每年花费美国超过3700亿美元。通过更频繁地监测肾功能，可以及早发现其恶化，使医生和患者能够调整治疗和生活方式，以防止肾功能进一步丧失。这一点至关重要，因为在许多情况下，肾功能无法恢复。此外，65岁以上成年人慢性肾脏疾病的发病率惊人（25%），因此密切监测肾功能至关重要。 I-Corps团队的目标是从上述概念验证中开发出一个完全可销售的原型，其中包括项目阶段当前和未来计划的改进。所提出的设备可以促进患者尿液分析数据的收集，存储和传输，并减少在家庭环境中使用自动化设备进行尿液分析所花费的时间和资源。它还可以使诊所、医院和辅助生活设施受益，这些设施可以使用我们提出的设备的功能将结果数据输入数据库。在I-Corps计划的客户发现阶段，团队将专注于进一步了解更广泛医疗人群的关键需求，并探索该技术可能具有重要价值的其他领域（例如，兽医、运动医学等）。预计将完成在医院环境中验证和测试概念的工作。将在家庭单位完成具体测试。识别用户体验方面的不足，根据反馈和小型诊所的测试以及患者参与进行改进。

Testing of urine for molecular content is a powerful tool that a doctor uses in the assessment of a patient's health profile. This procedure is typically done in a laboratory, where the patient must bring the urine sample for testing. Unfortunately, the collection and transportation of the sample can be a time-consuming task, which poses particular di;culty for patients with decreased mobility. Furthermore, kidney health is crucial for quality of life. Unfortunately, health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure are risk factors in the development of chronic kidney disease. This is particularly problematic given the high incidence of obesity that the United States currently is facing. Together, diabetes and cardiovascular disease cost the United States over $370 billions per year. By monitoring kidney function more frequently, its deterioration can be detected early, allowing doctors and patients to make adjustments in treatment and lifestyle to prevent further loss of kidney functions. This is crucial given the fact that, in many cases, kidney function cannot be recovered. Additionally, the alarming rate of chronic kidney disease in adults over 65 years (25%) makes it critical to closely monitor kidney function. The goal of this I-Corps team is to develop a completely marketable prototype from the above proof of concept that includes the current and the future planned improvements in the project phase.The proposed apparatus can facilitate the collection, storage and transfer of patients' urinalysis data and reduce the amount of time and resources used by performing urinalyses in a home setting with an automated device. It can also benefit clinics, hospitals and assisted living settings, which can use the capabilities of our proposed device to feed a database with the resulting data.During the customer discovery phase in the I-Corps program, the team will focus in understanding further the key needs of a broader medical population and explore other areas where the technology can be of significant value (e.g., veterinary, sport medicine etc.). Validation and testing of proof of concept in a hospital setting is expected to be completed. Specifically testing at a Family Unit will be completed. Identify deficiencies in terms of user experience, work towards improvements based on feedback and test at small clinics as well as engaging patients.