( ed testing at a routine visit. Catching...)Cardiologist's 'living chip' changes science of disease monitoring

The initial application for this technology is expected to involve pharmaceutical companies, which could use the biological chips to test potential drugs in the lab more quickly and accurately. In later generations, the chip ultimately could command implanted devices ?for example, a wireless defibrillator/pacemaker or an insulin pump ?to take action to correct a detected abnormality. The device would communicate with the living chip in real time, making adjustments as a direct result of the chip's ability to detect changes.

The company's molecular biology team is being led by Bradford Berk, M.D, Ph.D., an internationally known scientist and CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Cell-based analysis of physiologic functions is a novel approach to monitoring human disease and response to therapy," Berk said. "A key aspect of our approach is integrating the cells in a matrix that promotes normal function and optimal monitoring." Both Berk's laboratory and that of researcher Keigi Fujiwara, Ph.D., will collaborate with Physiologic Communications on the technology.

"21st Century medicine recognizes that individual patients respond differently to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions," Rosero said. "The key to personalizing an individual's care is to improve the manner in which one can detect abnormalities in chemical signals or physiologic activity in real-time using technology that is minimally invasive. We are on the road to doing this."

Promising technology
Physiologic Communications, created 18 months ago by Rosero, has quickly grown from an idea to a successful start-up venture thanks in part to Excell Partners Inc. The Rochester-based consortium assists young companies with funding from New York state, Cornell University and the University of Rochester, and provided
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Source:University of Rochester Medical Center