Trauma-related hemorrhage is a leading cause of death among adults under 45 years old, as well as children of all age groups. The diagnostic challenge is determining the volume of blood loss or conversely, the volume of blood remaining in circulation. Younger individuals tend to maintain high vascular tone in a setting of acute blood loss; this compensatory mechanism often masks signs of hemorrhagic shock. When such robust compensatory mechanisms are overwhelmed, patients rapidly decompensate, leading to overt shock, multiple organ failure and often death.

OHSU startup QuantiPort, Inc. has developed a system for measuring blood volume quickly and accurately. This helps identify patients who have lost significant blood volume as well as to detect ongoing blood loss. The QuantiPort Blood Volume Measurement Device (Blood Volume MD) provides advance warning and a valuable head start for physicians to initiate emergency therapeutic intervention prior to patient decompensation, overt shock and death.

Using a mini-spectrophotometer with a small display module that docks onto an adhesive patch over the skin, the device measures the dilution and elimination of an injected tracer to determine blood volume in about 7 minutes. In addition to total blood volume, other diagnostically relevant information is reported, including red cell and plasma volume, hemoglobin, hematocrit and venous oxygen saturation. Importantly, the test may be repeated every 15 minutes so that physicians can see the effects of therapeutic interventions in real time.

“Current methods of objective blood volume measurement are time-consuming, expensive and expose patients to radioactive substances that require special licensing and handling,” says Theodore Hobbs, D.V.M., M.C.R., head of durgery at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, and founder/president of QuantiPort, Inc. “We want to develop a device that is easy to administer — that within a few minutes can determine total blood volume without blood draws, radioactive substances or outside laboratory processing. This allows for fast, safe and reliable assessments at a much lower cost.”

The project is funded through a combination of DoD SBIR, ONAMI Launch, and Business Oregon Matching grants. The device also received funding and support from the Biomedical Innovation Program, a collaborative program between Technology Transfer and Business Development and the Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute. QuantiPort is currently seeking FDA Breakthrough Device designation.