SUDBURY, Mass. – Corum Medical Inc. has received two federal grants to support the development and marketing of non-invasive hemoglobin-measurement technology licensed from Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital.
Doctors measure blood levels of hemoglobin – is an oxygen-transporting protein – to diagnose and monitor anemia. But current testing methods involve drawing blood.
Corum is developing a hand-held instrument, called LumenI, that uses optical liquid-crystal technology to assess hemoglobin levels by gauging the color of the tissue under a patient’s eyelid.
The company has won two Phase I SBIR grants, from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, to support its efforts to design and develop the LumenI, conduct clinical trials and ultimately launch the device onto the marketplace.
“This double award is an impressive achievement of the Corum Medical team, especially in light of published statistics showing only 19 percent of the submissions receiving an SBIR grant,” said Alan R. Kivnik, the company’s president and CEO. “The NIH grant will allow us to take our core concept of measuring hemoglobin optically to the hospital environment for controlled human trials.”
The non-invasive LumenI would make diagnosing anemia faster, simpler and less expensive, noted Olga V. Cherniavsky, Corum Medical’s chief marketing officer. “This economical point-of-care method will have a significant impact on the efficiency of patient diagnosis and monitoring and quality of patient care in a variety of settings, ranging from a doctor’s office to the hospital to home care,” she said.
Anemia, if unchecked, can lead to kidney failure or a heart attack. It also can be a sign of serious illness such as cancer, diabetes or HIV.
An estimated 3.5 million Americans and 2 billion people worldwide are anemic.
For more information on Corum Medical, visit www.corummedical.com.
