AtCor Medical Limited announced that a new study has indicated a further application for its SphygmoCor technology. The study showed that the company’s SphygmoCor system, that measures central blood pressures and arterial stiffness non-invasively, can predict the development of pre-eclampsia, which occurs in 3-5 per cent of all pregnancies and is a leading cause of maternal and foetal mortality and pre-term delivery. A SphygmoCor test, looking for early signs of arterial stiffness, was carried out by a team at the University of London on 210 low-risk women between the 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. It predicted 79 per cent of all cases of pre-eclampsia and 88 per cent of early onset pre-eclampsia, which occurs before 34 weeks of gestation. The study found that two central cardiovascular indices reported by the SphygmoCor system predicted subsequent development of pre-eclampsia. These indices augmentation pressure and augmentation index, both measure arterial stiffness. The authors of the study point out that, because the disease process is already established by the middle of the second trimester, it is likely that successful preventative measures will need to be instituted as early in pregnancy as possible. ‘These findings may lead to development of a robust screening model that would be invaluable in the development of an early therapeutic strategy for the prevention of pre-eclampsia,’ the study concludes. ‘This study points to a promising new application for our SphygmoCor technology,’ said Duncan Ross, president and CEO of AtCor Medical. ‘If the SphygmoCor system can identify women at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia long before clinical symptoms can be detected, targeted surveillance and earlier intervention will be possible. ‘The study also provides further evidence of the importance of non-invasive central blood pressure measurement as a predictor of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.’