WELWYN GARDEN CITY, UK – Tarilian Laser Technologies (TLT) has confirmed, from early studies, the ability of its Sapphire sensor technology to detect "white coat" hypertension (WCH) during measurement of blood pressure in a clinical setting.
The Sapphire sensor can create a novel platform from which white coat hypertension can be distinguished from background stress and anomalous baseline variability in blood pressure, officials from the company said in an announcement made Tuesday.
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White coat hypertension, which is commonly called white coat syndrome, is the term used to describe the raised blood pressure shown by patients when their blood pressure is measured in a clinical setting that is not shown elsewhere, such as at home.
According to TLT, this raised pressure is significant for medical diagnosis as it may lead to inappropriate management of the hypertensive patient – which increases risk, distress and costs to the healthcare system.
Sandeep Shah, CEO of TLT said, "the new pivotal development further distinguishes the TLT technology from other technologies on the market in that we can further validate potential false positives within the clinical process and avoid the situation where the patient receives unnecessary treatments."
Until a few years ago, the variability in blood pressure had been dismissed as a 'background noise' that dilutes the prognostic effects of average blood pressure. Recent research now indicates that blood pressure variability is in itself an important phenomenon to track and control as it is associated with morbidity and mortality.
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Blood pressure variability is an important risk factor for stroke and this is substantiated by evidence from various clinical trials around the world. Systolic blood pressure varies to a greater degree than diastolic blood pressure. Early death or neurologic deterioration and recurrent stroke are associated independently with high systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and blood pressure variability.
"Having the robust non-invasive TLT sensor that can directly monitor beat-to-beat blood pressure variability allows us to uncover even more useful information that will help us to protect the patient further," said Shah. "Within the next few weeks, we now expect to develop a new Sapphire sensor platform focussed on detailed beat-to-beat analysis and thus open up a paradigm for the utility of the TLT sensor around the world."
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