Abstract: A mobile patient support chair to assist in bathing of a patient by a carer with little or no upper body strength comprises a chair pivotally mounted in a support frame comprised of four legs each ending in a wheel. The chair frame comprises groups of support panels which can be locked in support positions and rotated through 90 degrees to provide access to the patient's legs, buttocks and back. Additionally the chair is balanced to allow easy rotation into a fully backwards lying position, and a fully forward lying position. In the fully forward lying position flexible retaining strips are placed across the patient to retain them in place. Additionally the wheels may be step-climbing wheels to assist in climbing small steps found in bathroom entrances and shower cubicles.

Abstract: A mobile patient support chair to assist in bathing of a patient by a carer with little or no upper body strength comprises a chair pivotally mounted in a support frame comprised of four legs each ending in a wheel. The chair frame comprises groups of support panels which can be locked in support positions and rotated through 90 degrees to provide access to the patient's legs, buttocks and back. Additionally the chair is balanced to allow easy rotation into a fully backwards lying position, and a fully forward lying position. In the fully forward lying position flexible retaining strips are placed across the patient to retain them in place. Additionally the wheels may be step-climbing wheels to assist in climbing small steps found in bathroom entrances and shower cubicles.

Abstract: A method of determining a measure of a tissue state (e.g., glycation end-product or disease state) in an individual is disclosed. A portion of the skin of the individual is illuminated with excitation light, then light emitted by the tissue due to fluorescence of a chemical with the tissue responsive to the excitation light is detected. The detected light can be combined with a model relating fluorescence with a measure of tissue state to determine a tissue state. The invention can illuminate the skin and detect responsive light over a time that spans a plurality of cardiac cycles of the individual, which can, as an example, help mitigate the effects of time-varying signals such as those due to hemoglobin. The invention can also determine the amount of light to be directed to the skin, for example by controlling the time that a light source is energized. The amount of illumination light can be determined from a skin reflectance characteristic such as pigmentation or melanin in the skin.

Abstract: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) occurs at an earlier age in diabetes and is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) in subjects with or without diabetes. One postulated mechanism for the increased CAC is the accelerated accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the vasculature. As certain collagen AGEs fluoresce, skin intrinsic fluorescence (SIF) can act as a novel maker of collagen AGEs levels. The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for detecting SIF that can be a useful marker of CAD risk and a therapeutic target.

Abstract: A method of determining a measure of a tissue state (e.g., glycation end-product or disease state) in an individual is disclosed. A portion of the skin of the individual is illuminated with excitation light, then light emitted by the tissue due to fluorescence of a chemical with the tissue responsive to the excitation light is detected. The detected light can be combined with a model relating fluorescence with a measure of tissue state to determine a tissue state. The invention can illuminate the skin and detect responsive light over a time that spans a plurality of cardiac cycles of the individual, which can, as an example, help mitigate the effects of time-varying signals such as those due to hemoglobin. The invention can also determine the amount of light to be directed to the skin, for example by controlling the time that a light source is energized. The amount of illumination light can be determined from a skin reflectance characteristic such as pigmentation or melanin in the skin.