3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study evaluates two different methods for monitoring a patient's anti-clotting \[heparin\] therapy after they receive a heart pump implant \[left ventricular assist device -LVAD\]. One method tests for how long it takes the patient's blood to clot and uses that to determine if they are on the right dose of heparin. The other method uses a more direct measure of how much heparin is in the blood. The hypothesis is that the method that more directly measures how much heparin is in the patient's blood will provide better medical results for the patient's care after they have the heart pump implant. To that end, the investigators are conducting this feasibility trial to establish the logistics associated with the implementation of these heparin monitoring approaches.
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the accuracy of a low-cost "point-of-care" test (POCT) that allows monitoring of markers for anticoagulation and thrombosis (local coagulation or clotting of the blood), to be used by patients with advanced heart failure (AHF) on left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support. The investigators central hypothesis is that the fully-printed AT-POCT utilizing low-cost (printed) cassettes and detector will produce an inexpensive and convenient option for daily self-monitoring of PT/INR and LDH over existing methods.
A comparison of pulse wave characteristics, as measured by peripheral tonometry, in pre and post Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) patients.