New Members

07/03/2024, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Luzern, Switzerland

07/03/2024, Hassan first University , Settat, Morocco

07/03/2024, Hochschule Luzern T&A, Horw, Switzerland

07/03/2024, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona AN, Italy

01/29/2024, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

10/17/2023, University of Toronto , Mississauga Ontario , Canada

7/27/2023, University Toledo, Toledo, USA

4/5/2023, ZheJiang Normal University, Zhejiang Province, China

04/11/2023, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, USA

01/17/2023, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

09/13/2023, Universidad del Rosario, Bogonta , Colombia

08/22/2023, BioCardia, Sunny Val, USA Bringing personalized medicine to cell therapy for heart disease

06/27/2022, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India

06/01/2022, Kestra Medical Technologies, Inc., Kirkland, USA Kestra Medical Technologies is a wearable medical device and digital healthcare company that protects patients with diagnostic and therapeutic technologies that are intuitive, intelligent, and mobile.

06/07/2021, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain

04/30/2021, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

04/30/2021, University Carlos III Madrid Lopez, Madrid, Spain

04/30/2021, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran Province, Iran

01/12/2021, The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

01/12/2021, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain

01/12/2021, Universidad iberoamericana, Mexico City, MEXICO

01/12/2021, Clinical Technology , Brecksville, USA

06/05/2020, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

06/05/2020, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, USA

05/28/2020, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom

05/28/2020, The University of AIZU, Fukushima, Japan

05/28/2020, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, Taiwan

02/28/2020, Indian Institute of Space & Science & Tech, Kerala, India To be a world class educational and research institution contributing significantly to the Space endeavours

02/20/2020, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Monash University is one of Australia’s leading universities and ranks among the world’s top 100. We help change lives through research and education.

12/24/2019, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SPAIN

11/11/2019, University of Verona, Verona, ITALY

11/11/2019, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA The University of Pittsburgh is a state-related research university, founded as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), which comprises 62 preeminent doctorate-granting research institutions in North America.

11/11/2019, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin , CHINA Tianjin University is the oldest institution of higher education in the modern history of China. Founded in 1895 as Peiyang University, Tianjin University’s 123-year history is the epitome of the progress of modern Chinese higher education, embodying the Chinese people’s indomitability through challenging times.

11/01/2019, Parsons Government Service, HOUSTON, USA Founded in 1944, Parsons Corporation --- a digitally enabled solutions provider --- is focused on the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets.

10/31/2019, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

10/31/2019, Air University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan The mission of Air University is to achieve excellence in teaching and research for producing graduates with sound professional knowledge, integrity of character, a keen sense of social responsibility and a passion for lifelong learning. The University shall stand committed to creating an environment conducive for attracting the best students, faculty and supporting staff for contributing to the development of a prosperous, peaceful and enlightened society.

05/15/2019, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA For 168 years, this campus has been a catalyst for the extraordinary. As a public land-grant university and prolific research institution, our students, staff, and faculty members partake in a world-class education and solve real-world problems

05/15/2019, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NETHERLANDS

05/15/2019, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

05/15/2019, University of California Los Angeles, os Angeles, USA

05/15/2019, University of California Irvine, Irvine, USA Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs.

05/15/2019, Technion , Haifa, ISRAEL A science and technology research university, among the world’s top ten,

05/15/2019, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, FINLAND Tampere University is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland. Almost all internationally recognised fields of study are represented at our university.

05/15/2019, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, CHINA

05/15/2019, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, CHINA

05/15/2019, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University, Sankt-Peterburg, RUSSIA Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI" is one of the world's largest education centers specializing in radio engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and computer science.

05/15/2019, Pontifical Xavierian University, Bogotá, Colombia

05/15/2019, University of Sfax , Sfax, TUNISIA

05/15/2019, King Saud University, Riyadh , SAUDIA ARABIA

05/15/2019, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The newly-established Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) combines the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MI), the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) and the Petroleum Institute (PI) into one world-class, research-intensive institution, seamlessly integrating research and education to produce world leaders and critical thinkers in applied science and engineering.

05/15/2019, Argentine Institute of Mathematics, Buenos Aires , ARGENTINA

05/15/2019, INESC TEC, Porto, PORTUGAL INESC TEC is a private non-profit research institution, dedicated to scientific research and technological development, technology transfer, advanced consulting and training, and pre-incubation of new technology-based companies.

05/15/2019, Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin, GERMANY Innovations for the digital society of the future are the focus of research and development work at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI. In this area, Fraunhofer HHI is a world leader in the development of mobile and optical communication networks and systems, fiber optical sensor systems as well as the processing and coding of video signals.

05/15/2019, Heart Input Output, Inc., Pittsburgh, USA

05/15/2019, Harrisburg University, Harrisburg, USA

05/15/2019, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, POLAND

05/15/2019, Carlos III University of Madrid , Madrid, SPAIN UC3M´s mission is to contribute to the improvement of society through teaching of the highest quality and cutting-edge research in line with stringent international guidelines. The University aspires to excellence in all its activities, with the aim of becoming one of the top universities in Europe.

05/15/2019, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA BIDMC is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a new health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.

[01/24/2018], Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary The BRC is an outstanding institution of the internationally acknowledged Hungarian biological research. The Biological Research Centre was founded in 1971. The 4 institutes of BRC - the Institutes of Biophysics, Biochemistry, Genetics and Plant Biology - employ about 260 scientists whose work is hall-marked by highly appreciated international scientific publications and patents. The research topics include several fields of molecular and cell biology from the industrial utilization of bacteria through controlled improvement of cultivated plants to the problems of human health and environmental protection. BRC is mainly a scientific basic research centre, but scientists of BRC play an initiative role in the foundation and promotion of biotechnological companies, as well as in educational duties.

[01/02/2018], Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís - MA, Brazil Founded in 1966, Universidade Federal do Maranhão (Federal University of Maranhão) is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the medium-sized city of São Luis (population range of 500,000-1,000,000 inhabitants), Maranhao. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the Ministério da Educação, Brazil (Ministry of Education, Brazil), Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) is a coeducational higher education institution. Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) offers courses and programs leading to officially recognized higher education degrees such as bachelor degrees in several areas of study.

[03/12/2018], University of Vigo, Viigo, Spain The University of Vigo is a modern and innovative institution, which offers more than 50 degree courses on three different campuses: a) the Vigo campus – which includes both the Lagoas Marcosende campus (15 km from the city centre) and the historical campus at Torrecedeira, b) the Ourense campus, and c) the Pontevedra campus. More than 24,000 students are registered at the three campuses, and 1,600 lecturers teach undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the University of Vigo. Our institution offers degrees in all knowledge areas, especially in the scientific-technological field. Some of the degrees are unique within the Galician university system and not very common in the rest of the Spanish universities: Fine Arts on the Pontevedra Campus, Mining and Telecommunication Engineering on the Vigo campus, and Tourism on the Ourense campus.

[01/24/2018], Stanford Medicine, Stanford, USA A leader in the biomedical revolution, Stanford Medicine has a long tradition of leadership in pioneering research, creative teaching protocols and effective clinical therapies. Our close proximity to the resources of the university — including the Schools of Business, Law, Humanities and Sciences, and Engineering, our seamless relationship with our affiliated adult and children’s hospitals, and our ongoing associations with the entrepreneurial endeavors of Silicon Valley, make us uniquely positioned to accelerate the pace at which new knowledge is translated into tangible health benefits.

[01/24/2018], The Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Vienna, Austria The Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (OFAI) is one of Europe's leading non-profit contract research institutions. Services offered range from consultancy, basic and applied research on a contractual base, to working as partner or prime contractor in scientific projects on a national or European level, with a twenty year experience in a diversity of domains, from economic, engineering, administrative to social and cultural tasks.

[10/25/2017], University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, USA As the flagship statewide, public, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care and public service. Employing more than 6,000 people on its faculty, staff and not-for-profit corporation faculty practice groups, UTHSC contributes more than $2.7 billion to the economy of Tennessee.

[10/24/2017], Dankook University, Yongin-si,, South Korea Dankook University cherishes truth and service as its guiding principles. It is our belief that the purpose of research and study lies beyond simply acquiring tools for sustenance – the ultimate purpose of higher learning is the enrichment of human knowledge and culture. Principally, scholars are obligated to return such knowledge to society and contribute to historical advancement. They must seek to develop sharp, critical minds and a righteous moral character; by doing so and voluntarily participating in the betterment of society as a whole, one embodies the path Dankook wishes to set forth. It has been the unwavering devotion towards realizing such duties of higher education and patriotism that has led to Dankook University’s existence in its current form

[09/28/2017], Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital is a large, modern, comprehensive teaching hospital providing high quality health care and opportunities for postgraduate medical education and scientific research. The hospital was founded in 1953, and is situated on the western part of the 4th Beijing Ring Road. The hospital has 165 clinical medical departments, which each year accept 49,000 outpatients and emergency patients while performing nearly 90,000 surgery cases. The medical- health care center is noted for providing high-end preventive care services.

[07/20/2017], University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA The Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC) at the University of Central Florida houses high performance computing resources for use in research by faculty across campus. Research supported by the ARCC covers a variety of different disciplines, including Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, Optics, Nanoscience, and many others. The ARCC staff also pursues research in machine learning and visualization, as well as information technology. Currently, the center houses a high performance computing system known as Stokes, which is used to help support and drive research within the university.

[05/02/2017], Shandong University, , China Founded in 1901, Shandong University, based in Jinan, China, is the nation’s largest public university. It has prepared over 400,000 individuals in a variety of specialties, and has been making significant contributions to the country’s economic and social development. The growth of the university has allowed it to rise to the forefront of many fields in China. They continually develop new disciplines such as crystal materials, cardiovascular functional recovery, and new drug manufacturing to stay on the cutting edge of scientific research. Many of these newly formed disciplines have quickly risen to the first-class level within the country, and some are even know abroad.

[02/17/2017], University of Porto, Praça de Gomes Teixeira, Portugal The University of Porto, founded in 1911, is a leading scientific and research institution located in Portugal. The university is internationally recognized for the quality of research it produces, and is consistently ranked among the 150 best European universities. It is an important driver of economic, social, and scientific development within Portugal, and strives to be a strong partner of the business community. By combining quality teaching with a focus on market needs, the university strives to actively participate in, and encourage, the progress of communities in which it operates.

[05/24/2016], Marche Polytech University, Ancona, Italy The Department of Life and Environmental Sciences was established in 2011 by merging a number of laboratories involved in a wide spectrum of fundamental and applied research topics. The department is a center of excellence of the Università Politecnica delle Marche and includes more than 100 scientists and technicians that conduct research in areas such as analytical and organic chemistry, biophysics, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics, microbiology and biotechnology, viral, prokaryotic, fungal, algal, plant and animal systematics, physiology and reproduction, marine biology, ecology, eco-toxicology, oceanography, Earth sciences, risk reduction and civil protection.

[05/12/2016], University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires University consists of thirteen colleges/schools, dozens of research institutes, and two secondary schools, offering more than 100 undergraduate majors. There is a teaching staff of 30,000 teachers, and approximately 300,000 students; 30% of scientific research in Argentina takes place at UBA. Standard undergraduate studies last approximately 5 years. Buenos Aires University offers several graduate programmers, masters, PhDs, and specialization courses as well.

[05/12/2016], Queen's University, Kingston, Canada The mission of Queen's University has been articulated in a number of different forms and formats over the past decade. In all of the presentations, the key elements have remained constant: The University will build on the strength that is Queen's - students, faculty, staff and alumni - to be among the best of internationally known universities in Canada, recognized for: •the exceptional quality of undergraduate and graduate students and programs in the arts, sciences and professions; •the intellectual power and value of research and scholarship by faculty members and students; •the exemplary service of the University and that of its graduates to the community and the nation and the community of nations.

[04/28/2016], University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied research. It is strongly inter- and multidisciplinary in focus and strives for international excellence. To this end, KU Leuven works together actively with its research partners at home and abroad.KU Leuven encourages personal initiative and critical reflection in a culture of idea exchange, cooperation, solidarity and academic freedom.

[03/07/2016], Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated nonprofit medical group practice in the world, employing more than 3,800 physicians and scientists, as well as 50,900 allied health staff. Based out of Rochester, MN, the Mayo Clinic’s mission is “to inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education, and research.” The practice specializes in treating difficult cases through tertiary care, and spends over $500 million a year on research. It was also recognized as one of the best hospitals in the U.S. for 2015-2016 by U.S. News & World Report.

[03/02/2016], Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic The Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) is an internationally recognized higher education and research institution with more than 300 years of tradition and excellence. CTU is a leading technical research university with a large focus on cutting edge science and engineering, paired with a high-quality technical education. With 8 departments each focused on an engineering specialty, the university educates modern specialists, scientists, and managers who are dynamic, flexible, and able to rapidly adapt to the requirements of the market.

[02/10/2016], CERB, Baugy, France Located in Baugy, France, CERB was founded in 1973 and has developed into a leading international contract research organization (CRO) in the fields of pre-clinical pharmacology and toxicology. Taking on the challenges of modern drug development, CERB has created a distinctive image as a leading major service provider to the pharmaceutical industry in the context of innovative bio-medical research. CERB takes advantage of its sophisticated synergy between pharmacology and toxicology resources to provide complete pre-phase I packages for new molecules in an economic and timely manner

[01/07/2016], Goergen Institute for Data Science (GIDS), Rochester, USA The GIDS supports faculty research, particularly collaborative public-private research partnerships spanning several domains, such as developing health care breakthroughs, improving our knowledge of how the brain works, and creating tools and systems to efficiently use data. The GIDS is working to build strategic alliances and business partnerships among the academic, government, and business communities, leveraging University of Rochester expertise.

[10/06/2015], Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany Dresden University of Technology is one of eleven German universities that were identified as an “excellent university", and includes over 37,000 students with 14 institutions offering a wide range of academic programs. The Institute of Biomedical Engineering focuses on the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular disease. With a strong focus on research.

[10/06/2015], Biomedical Systems, Maryland Heights, USA Biomedical Systems has set the health care industry standard by providing innovative approaches to non-invasive diagnostic services, clinical trials, and products. They provide their clients with the ability to increase cost efficiencies and bring studies to database lock on an advanced timeline by combining over 20 modalities in one study. Biomedical Systems' pioneering spirit is based on a strong history as a privately held company that focuses on clients and people.

[09/15/2015], VivaQuant LLC, Shoreview, USA VivaQuant provides products, services and technology that incorporate advanced signal processing to more accurately extract valuable information from biological signals. Through their technology they are committed to improving the lives of patients and the productivity of clinicians and researchers.

[08/04/2015], Sensium Healthcare Ltd, Abingdon, UK Sensium Healthcare, A global pioneer in wireless monitoring of vital signs. The company focus is on ultra-low power, lightweight, monitoring solutions which improve patient care and safety,shorten hospital stays and reduce healthcare costs.

[07/28/2015], Seoul National University, , South Korea, Seoul National University, As Korea leading research university, honoring the ideals of a liberal education aim at teaching students a lifelong love of learning that will form the basis for continuous personal growth. It includes 16 Colleges, 1 Graduate School, 9 Professional Graduate Schools with 16,006 Undergrad Students, 10,559 Graduate Students.

[07/16/2015], Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA A leading innovator of medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. Products and technologies used to diagnose or treat a wide range of medical conditions, including heart, digestive, pulmonary, vascular, urological, women health and chronic pain conditions. Boston Scientific is dedicated to transforming lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world.

[09/30/2014], Harvard Medical School-Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, USA The Wyss Institute aims to discover the engineering principles that Nature uses to build living things, and harnesses these insights to create biologically inspired materials and devices that will revolutionize healthcare and create a more sustainable world. In medicine, the Institute is developing innovative materials, devices, and disease reprogramming technologies.

[03/12/2014], University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany The Charite is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. Here, 3700 doctors and scientists heal, do research and teach at the top international level. More than half of the German Nobel Prize winners in medicine and physiology come from the Charite, among them Emil von Behring, Robert Koch and Paul Ehrlich.

[01/23/2014], BioSign GmbH, Ottenhofen, Germany Developing innovative measurement and therapy systems for professionals and end-users in the subject area vegetative (autonomic) nervous system. BioSign is responding to the growing medical recognition that disturbances in the autonomic nervous system and disturbances in the interplay of the various organs are involved with the autonomic nervous system.

[11/14/2013], University of Rochester, Computer and Electrical Engineering, Rochester, USA This department has multiple programs related to energy, to health and medicine, to the connected world, and to music. Specific research programs span a wide range, including medical imaging, image processing, genomics, audio and music signal processing, among others.

[10/31/2013], RIT, Microsystem Engineering, Rochester, USA The multidisciplinary program builds on the fundamentals of traditional engineering and science including the manipulation of electrical, photonic, optical, mechanical, chemical, and biological functionality to process, sense, and interface with the world at a nanometer scale.

[09/10/2013], Medtronic, Inc., Medtronic , USA Medtronic develops and manufactures innovative medical device technology and therapies to treat chronic disease worldwide.

[06/11/2013], RIT, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester, USA The RIT mission is to provide technology-based educational programs for personal and professional development. We rigorously pursue new and emerging career areas. We develop and deliver curricula and advance scholarship relevant to emerging technologies and social conditions. Our community is committed to diversity and student centeredness and is distinguished by our innovative and collaborative spirit.

[05/02/2013], Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Utica, USA The Masonic Medical Research Laboratory is a not-for-profit institute dedicated to improving the health and quality of life for all. The Laboratory primary mission is to conduct high quality basic and clinical research aimed at generating knowledge and information necessary for development of the medical cures and treatments of tomorrow.

[04/22/2013], Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (Barcelona-Tech), Barcelona, Spain. The Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC): BarcelonaTech is a public institution dedicated to higher education and research, specialised in the fields of engineering, architecture and science. With a focus on intellectual rigor, critical thinking, a transversal approach to knowledge, educational innovation and entrepreneurship, the UPC produces competent professionals with the skills they need to tackle present and future challenges.

[03/20/2013], Teschnische Universitat(TU), Berlin, Germany The TU Dresden is one of eleven German universities that were identified as an Excellence University. TUD has about 36.500 students and almost 5319 employees, 507 professors among them, and, thus, is the largest university in Saxony.

[02/08/2013], Baskir State Pedagogical University (BSPU), Uta, Russia M. Akmullah BSPU is a large scientific, educational, cultural and social center of the Republic of Bashkortostan. It includes the Institute of Pedagogics, the Institute of Professional Education and Information Technologies, the Institute of Historical and Legal Education, the Institute of Philological Education and Cross-Cultural Communication and 7 departments with about 12 000 students.

[02/01/2013], Chung-Yuan Christian University, Taiwan, China Chung Yuan Christian University is founded on the spirit of Christian love for the world. With faith, hope, and love, we endeavor to promote higher education for the benefit of the Chinese people, aiming at the pursuit and advancement of genuine knowledge in order to maintain our cultural heritage and, thus, to serve humankind.

[12/11/2012], Cardio-QT Ltd., Glasgow, UK Headed by Royal College Accredited Cardiologist and Bioengineer supported by PhD Scientists, Cardio-QT Ltd is an award winning, highly innovative Core Cardiac Analysis Laboratory offering an array of sophisticated validated techniques to solve all analytical research problems.

[10/21/2012], National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico The Institute is the State secular free education institution, guide of public technological education in Mexico. A leader in the generation, application, dissemination and transfer of scientific and technological knowledge.

[09/24/2012], Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA Mass General has long been a leader in successfully bridging innovative science with state-of-the-art clinical medicine. With an annual research budget of nearly $764 million, Mass General conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States - a program that spans more than 20 clinical departments and centers across the hospital. This funding drives discoveries and breakthroughs in basic and clinical research, which translate into new and better treatments that transform medical practice and patient care.

[05/24/2012], College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA The mission of the Department of Biomedical Sciences is to educate and inform the veterinary and human biomedical communities through our diverse research and clinical service excellence as well as through our commitment to undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary teaching.

[05/02/2012], The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI), Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia The VCCRI is committed to excellence in research into heart disease and cardiovascular biology, cardiovascular research training, and facilitating the rapid application of research discoveries to patient care.

[02/09/2012], SAIT, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Gyeonggi-do, Korea SAIT provides a full spectrum of support so its researchers can focus on creative research, seek the convergence of heterogeneous technologies and take up new challenges. Meanwhile, SAIT also actively engages in "open innovation" to jointly create future value with other research institutions through collaboration.

[01/26/2012], FDA-CDRH: Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring, USA FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) is responsible for regulating firms who manufacture, repackage, relabel, and/or import medical devices sold in the United States. In addition, CDRH regulates radiation-emitting electronic products (medical and non-medical) such as lasers, x-ray systems, ultrasound equipment, microwave ovens and color televisions.

[01/10/2012], Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, USA The Mission of the Department of Physiological Nursing prevention of UCSF is to study the prevention, measurement, and treatment of physiological and biobehavioral responses to health, illness/disease and aging. Psycho-physiological interrelationships and interventions also are studied. Research spans all phases of the health/illness trajectory including people who are healthy, critically ill, living with a chronic illness, and those at the end of life.

[01/03/2012], University of Bologna (HST-ICIR), Bologna BO, Italy The University of Bologna was probably the first University in the western world. Its history is one of great thinkers in science and the humanities, making it an indispensable point of reference in the panorama of European culture. Bologna has thus been called upon to forge relationships with institutions in the most advanced countries to modernise and expand its activity. Among the many challenges which it has met with success, Bologna committed itself to the European dimension which has now led to adoption of the new university system.

PRESS CENTER

[09/23/2010]: AstraZeneca joins the THEW to further cardiac safety inThe Medical News: here .

[12/16/2009]: The Director of the THEW interviewed by Technology Review published by the MIT: here .

[11/11/2009]: New Research Center to Focus on Cardiac Safety and Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry Today: here .

[6/11/2009]: University of of Rochester and FDA Partner for ECG Database, Drug Discovery & Development Magazine. More info here

[5/6/2009] FDA website Existing Partnerships FDAs Public-Private Partnership Program: THEW

[03/28/2009] Public and Private part- nership to help determine Clinical Biomarker Utility in Applied Clinical Trials online.com. >here

Newsletter Issue 12, July 2011

Risk Stratification of End Stage Renal Disease patients: continuous 48-hour monitoring
from 51 patients recorded during and after their hemodialysis session

growth Editorial: Risk stratification of End Stage Renal Disease Patients

by JP. Couderc, PhD, MBA

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is a costly and disabling condition that disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority populations and is associated with a high mortality rate (230 per 1000 patients/year). The number of ESRD patients has increased at an average yearly rate of 3-4% between 1996 and 2005 in the United States. In 2000, there were ~281,000 US dialysis patients, with a projection of ~520,000 dialysis patients by 2010. Today, there are approximately half a million people in the US with ESRD on hemodialysis and the annual mortality rate among these patients is close to 25%. Cardiac disease is implicated in as many as 44% of these deaths. Amongst those, cardiac arrhythmias represent 61% of all cardiac deaths.
Several prospective multicenter trials (MADIT I/II, AVID, CASH and CIDS) have demonstrated the benefit of implantable cardiodefibrillator (ICD) therapy for the reduction of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in high risk patients. A meta-analysis of three trials suggested better survival with ICDs with a 28% reduction of risk (p<0.0006). Unfortunately, dialysis patients were, in general, excluded from the large randomized trials. Retrospective studies suggested important benefits of ICDs in dialysis patients. Based on a group of 5,582 patients with acute myocardial infarction in which 460 dialysis patients (~8%) were implanted with ICDs, Herzog et al. reported a 42% reduction in cardiac risk. The study also emphasized the underutilization of ICDs in this population. This observation was consistent with the results from Voigt et al. in 2004 describing ICD implantation in a group of survivors of cardiac arrest between 1996 and 2001: 31% were implanted whereas only 18% of dialysis patients surviving cardiac arrest received an ICD. Because the dialysis patients are at high risk for SCD, it is not surprising that most studies emphasize that these patients have the most to gain from receiving life-saving ICD therapies. At present, there are no specific clinical guidelines for the prescription of ICDs in ESRD patients and clinicians need risk-stratification methods to alter the abysmal outcome these patients are facing.
Thus, the Telemetric and Holter ECG Warehouse proposes a new set of continuous 48-hour high-definition (1000Hz) recordings acquired in ESRD patients in order to provide the opportunity to scientists to investigate whether there is information in the surface ECGs that could help better identify the high-risk patients with ESRD using their surface electrocardiograms. Thirteen months follow up on a set of 50 patients recorded during hemodialysis and for a period of two days are available. Eleven patients died during the study follow up (4 had cardiac deaths, while the 8 remaining deaths were not fully documented). See our description of this new database here .

In addition this quarter, we are glad to welcome numerous new organizations to our initiave. Two companies: Medial Research Inc., and Philips Health Care and five not-for-profit organizations have joined our initiative this past two months. We hope you will enjoy this Newsletter and our section related to new technologies that was provided by Dr. Mincholeand collaborators from University of Zaragoza (Spain). Anna describes an interesting method to measure spatial dispersion of APD restitution from surface ECGs.

FDA/THEW Private-Public Partnership meeting

On June 23rd, 2011, the partnership between the FDA and the THEW has been renewed after a successful first three years of collaboration. This second agreement has been signed by Dr. Janet Woodcock (Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA). A copy of this agreement is available on the THEW webite. In addition to the initial claim of the former agreement, this new version has been updated to include various achievements of the past three years and the expected goals for the upcoming years. A description of the partnership is available on the FDA website at the FDA website for Public Private Partnerships (PPP). click here to access this website.

pills NEW DATABASE E-HOL-12-0051-016: Continuous 48-hour monitoring from 51 end-stage renal disease patients

The goal of the study from which this new set of Holter ECG signals were recorded was to test the hypothesis that measurement of cardiac repolarization heterogeneity in response to dialysis, can be used to stratify End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients in terms of risk for sudden arrhythmic death and thereby determine which patients may benefit most from ICD placement.

Fifty-one ESRD patients with significant risk for sudden arrhythmic death were enrolled in one University of Rochester affiliated out-patient dialysis centers. Information about patient cardiac history and current drug therapies were recorded following HIPAA regulation. After the consent forms were communicated and signed, the patients entered the protocol during their next dialysis session. The study design includes 3 periods: A, baseline; B, HD period; C: post-HD. Clinical information such as age, gender, BMI and number of months on dialysis were recorded.

The figure below provides information related to the study characteristics: the upper panel includes the list of clinical parameters measured during the study and available in the THEW in addition to more than 100 clinical factors related to the hemodialysis setup, patients electrolytes, fluid remove, etc. Full description for the database here .

The inclusion/exclusion of patients were as follows:

ECG Characteristics: Number of Leads: 12 lead standard configuration; ECG Sampling Frequency : 1000Hz; ECG Amplitude Resolution: 0.5 uV

TECHNICAL CORNER: Spatial Dispersion of Action Potential Duration restitution measured from the surface ECG

By A. Mincholé, E. Pueyo and P.Laguna

Heart rate dependence of action potential duration (APD), also called restitution kinetics, is thought to be critical in activation instability and, therefore, provides relevant information for ventricular arrhythmic risk stratification [1, 2]. The dynamic APD restitution (APDR) curve, measured using the so-called dynamic restitution protocol, quantifies the relationship between the APD and the RR interval (inverse of HR) at steady-state when pacing at different RR values [3, 4].  Individual steeply sloped APDR curves have been reported to play an important role in the development of ventricular arrhythmias. However, heterogeneities in the ventricle lead to non uniform restitution properties, which makes APDR curves present spatial dispersion [5]. Recent studies have suggested that such dispersion in the APDR curves may act as a potent arrhythmogenic substrate [6, 7]. Additionally, increments in that spatial dispersion have been associated with greater propensity to suffer from ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation [8].

The main limitation on the usability of APDR dispersion as a risk index is that its quantification requires invasive procedures. In [9], a complete methodology was proposed to indirectly estimate dispersion of restitution slopes by making only use of the surface electrocardiogram (ECG). We proposed an ECG measure that quantifies dispersion in the dynamic APDR slopes by characterizing the relationship between the distance from T wave peak to T wave end (Tpe) and the RR interval under different stationary conditions. The proposed estimate is , where represents the Tpe interval at stationary RR intervals and can be computed as described in [9].

The capability of the proposed estimate to reflect APDR dispersion has been assessed by using a combination of ECG signal processing and computational modeling and simulation. Specifically, ECG recordings of control subjects undergoing a tilt test trial are used to measure that estimate, while its potentiality to provide a quantification of APDR dispersion at tissue level is assessed by using a 2D ventricular tissue simulation.
From this 2D simulation, APDR dispersion, denoted as , is calculated, and pseudo-ECGs are derived. Estimates of APDR dispersion measured from the pseudo-ECGs () show to correlate with , being the mean relative error below 5% (see Fig. 1) [9,10].

A comparison of the ECG estimates () obtained from tilt test recordings and the values measured in silico simulations at tissue level show that differences between them are below 20%, which is within physiological variability limits (see Fig. 1) [9]. These results provide evidence that the proposed estimate is a non invasive measurement of APDR dispersion in ventricle.

FIGURE 1:


Figure1.- APDR slope dispersion at tissue level , the proposed estimate measured from the pseudo-ECG in two different sensor positions, pecg1 and pecg5, described in [9, 10]), and the estimates measured from the clinical tilt test ECG recordings.

A future extension of this work is to test the proposed estimate under pathological
conditions. We aim at confirming experimental observations relating enhanced APDR
dispersion and arrhythmic risk. By quantifying our proposed ECG index, we seek to assess, on the one hand, whether patients that have suffered arrhythmic events present elevated APDR dispersion and, on the other hand, whether our proposed index is able to predict the onset of arrhythmic episodes.

References

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  7. R. Coronel, F. J. G. Wilms-Schopman, T. Opthof, and M. J. Janse, “Dispersion of repolarization and arrhythmogenesis,” Heart Rhythm, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 537–543, 2009.
  8.  [141] H. Pak, S. Hong, G. Hwang, H. Lee, S. Park, J. Ahn, Y. Moo Ro, , and Y. Kim, “Spatial dispersion of action potential duration restitution kinetics is associated with induction of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation in humans,” Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology, vol. 15, no. 12, pp. 1357–63, 2004.
  9. A. Mincholé, E. Pueyo, J.F. Rodríguez, E. Zacur, M. Doblaré, P. Laguna. “Quantification of restitution dispersion from the dynamic changes of the T wave peak to end, measured at the surface ECG”. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, In press, 2010 doi:10.1109/TBME.2010.2097597.
  10. A. Mincholé, E. Pueyo, J.F. Rodríguez, E. Zacur, M. Doblaré, P. Laguna, “Evaluation of a method for quantification of restitution dispersion from the surface ECG”, in Proc. Computers in Cardiology, vol. 36, IEEE Computer Society Press, Belfast (UK), 2010.