ImpediMed, a company based in Carlsbad, California, won clearance from the FDA for its SOZO device to assess protein calorie malnutrition. The condition can be common in cancer patients, so recognizing it before obvious symptoms, such as muscle wasting, appear is very important. Moreover, quite a few patients who don’t have cancer are malnourished for other reasons.
The SOZO device relies on ImpediMed’s novel bioimpedance spectroscopy technology that sends electric currents through the body and measures how they are affected by it. The SOZO can quickly scan through 256 different frequencies between 3 kHz and 1000 kHz, which is quite a bit larger range than conventional bioimpedance spectroscopes.
The device can also be used to help with diagnosis and monitoring of lymphedema and other conditions that affect fluid levels, and the technology should be popular at outpatient clinics, high-end gyms, nursing homes, and other facilities.
“Many chronic diseases, including cancer, COPD, CHF and liver disease, are associated with protein calorie malnutrition,” said Scott C. Howell, D.O., MPH & TM, Chief Medical Officer at Vitality Healthplan. “The consequences can be significant, including increased mortality, prolonged hospital stays and poor wound healing. A proactive, screening-based approach for nutritional support, employing SOZO, could lead to significantly improved clinical outcomes for patients.”
Here’s an ImpediMed promo video introducing the SOZO system:
Flashbacks: ImpediMed Introduces SOZO Bioimpedance Spectroscopy System to Measure Body Composition; SOZO High End Bioimpedance Spectroscopy System Being Released
Via: ImpediMed…