Vasc-Alert LLC has been awarded a patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for technology that helps dialysis providers perform surveillance on a patient's vascular access site. The device was developed by researchers in the Department of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, which owns the Canadian patent. The researchers previously had been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The software-based medical device tests an access site to determine which patients might be developing a stenosis, or narrowing of the blood vessel, that may decrease the effectiveness of dialysis treatment. A stenosis that is left untreated may develop into a thrombosis, or complete blood clot, putting the patient at risk of losing the access site. The technology measures and automatically trends a patient's intra-access pressure. Weekly reports that identify patients with elevated pressure trends are sent to the dialysis center to prompt early referrals for interventions of a patient's access site.

"The patent gives us the ability to begin our international expansion," said Doug Curry, vice president of Vasc-Alert. "Canada will be our first international market, and we have filed patents internationally for the same technology in multiple countries."