Background
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in industrialized nations. Myocardial Infarction/heart attack can be detected by measuring the levels of cardiac enzymes and proteins, such as troponin, in blood. The current assay used to detect heart attack measures the increase in cardiac troponin in blood caused by irreversible damage to cardiac (heart) tissue. Generally in the emergency department (ED), the current assay gives the results in one and a half hours. Compared to the current assay, the Ultrasensitive assay takes less than one hour to give results and is 100-1,000 times more sensitive and accurate. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the ability of the Ultrasensitive Cardiac Troponin assay to detect heart attacks in a more accurate and efficient way.
Goals
Test the de-identified serum samples from ED patients experiencing chest pain and/or other symptoms of heart attack using Ultrasensitive Cardiac assay
- Collect data relevant to diagnosis and outcome of heart attack
- Compare the data collected using the Nanosphere Ultrasensitive assay with that collected using the current standard of care Biosite Triage and Bayer Centaur assays
- Assess the data for improved early detection and for risk reduction of in-hospital cardiovascular incidents and mortality
Timeline
March 2008 - September 2008
Population Served
Samples from at least 1,000 ED patients experiencing symptoms of heart attack being seen in the ED of Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center. The results of this study could benefit all cardiac patients in the future.
Study Sponsor
Nanosphere, Inc. is a nanotechnology based molecular diagnostics company that is interested in improving the diagnosis and treatment of disease by giving earlier access to detection with the use of new and existing biomarkers.
Principal Investigators & Staff
Aurora Health Care, Inc.
- Matthew Tector, Ph.D.
Aurora UW Medical Group
- Dennis Baumgardner, M.D.
Center for Urban Population Health
- Jennifer Evertsen, M.S.
- Rebecca Hamilton, B.S.
- Indrani Banerjee, B.S.
