A "Thera-nostic" Approach to Improve Chronic Wound Outcomes with Optical & Acoustic Instrumentation

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

4:00 PM-5:30 PM

BIOMED Seminar

Title:
A "Thera-nostic" Approach to Improving Chronic Wound Outcomes with Optical and Acoustic Instrumentation

Speaker:
Michael Neidrauer, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University


Details:
Chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, and pressure injuries, affect over 6 million Americans at an estimated cost of over $25 billion per year. These wounds are associated with poor patient quality of life, increased mortality, and increased cost of care. Despite following evidence-based wound care approaches, treatments are often unsuccessful and wounds can remain unhealed for many months. An interdisciplinary approach to wound care that combines active wound therapies with improved diagnostic technology has the potential to improve patient outcomes.

This seminar will focus on three pilot clinical trials of innovative, non-invasive technologies that have the potential to improve wound care. (1) Rapid assessment of diabetic ulcers with a diffuse near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy system (685 - 830 nm) to predict healing outcomes with greater sensitivity and specificity than standard of care diagnostic methods. (2) Early detection of pressure injuries by measuring microcirculatory blood flow in rehabilitation patients using a NIR diffuse correlation spectroscopy optical system. (3) Accelerated healing of diabetic ulcers and venous ulcers using a wearable, lightweight (200 g), battery-powered (12V) therapeutic system that delivers low-frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound at safe levels of intensity (<100 mW/cm2). The combination of these approaches will give healthcare providers the ability to make agile treatment decisions, leading to individualized treatment approaches for chronic wound care as well as other medical conditions.

Biosketch:
Michael Neidrauer, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Drexel University, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems. His primary research interest is to advance personalized medicine by combining noninvasive diagnostic technology with innovative therapeutic modalities.

Previously, Dr. Neidrauer was the co-founder and principal scientist at Zeomedix, a company developing novel technology for controlled delivery of nitric oxide to infected wounds, and the VP of Technology Development at Instadiagnostics, Inc., an early stage company developing a platform technology for blood diagnostics at the point of care. He holds a BS in Biological Engineering from Cornell University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University. Since completing his doctorate in 2010, Dr. Neidrauer's research has been supported by the NIH, NSF, CDMRP, US Army, and industry sources.

Contact Information

Ken Barbee
215-895-1335
barbee@drexel.edu