Direct Measurement of Trace Elements in Body Fluids

描述(申请人提供)：对体液(尿液、血液、血浆)成分的测量是疾病检测和控制的最重要工具之一。一类较少常规应用但日益重要的测量是微量元素浓度的测定。目前，由于在所需的十亿分之几的水平上测量重要微量元素的复杂性和费用，必须收集样本并将其送往区域实验室。常规的、高灵敏度的、临床点的微量元素测量可以通过三种不同的方式来实现：1)检测和测量非必需的有毒金属，如铅、镉、汞和砷；2)监测必需元素的浓度，如铜、锌、硒、铬和铁，通常存在于血浆中，也存在于尿液和血液中，以检测缺乏(与生长迟缓、孟克氏症、心血管疾病等有关)或过量(与糖尿病、癌症、肥胖、中风、帕金森病、阿尔茨海默病等有关)；3)测定螯合疗法清除有毒或过量元素的效率和速率。本项目的目标是利用一种新的、新颖的、专有的X射线光学技术，开发一种新型、紧凑、廉价、易于使用、高灵敏度、可靠、低功耗的分析仪，用于体液中痕量元素的直接临床测量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Measurements of the composition of body fluids (urine, blood, plasma) are among the most important tools for disease detection and control. One class of measurement, less routinely applied but of increasing importance, is determination of trace element concentration. Currently, because of the complexity and expense involved in measuring important trace elements at the parts-per-billion level required, samples must be collected and sent to regional laboratories. Routine, high-sensitivity, point-of-care, measurement of trace elements can be valuable in three distinct ways: 1) Detection and measurement of nonessential toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic; 2) Monitoring the concentration of essential elements such as copper, zinc, selenium, chromium and iron, usually in plasma but also in urine and blood, to detect deficiency (related to growth retardation, Menke's disease, cardiovascular disease, etc.), or excess (related to diabetes, cancer, obesity, stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc.); and 3) Measurement of the efficiency and rate of removal of toxic or excess elements by chelation therapy. It is the goal of this project to develop a novel, compact, inexpensive, easy to use, high-sensitivity, reliable, low-power analyzer for direct, clinical measurement of trace elements in body fluids, by using a new, novel, proprietary x-ray optics technology.