Diagnosing gout could become easier, more cost-effective with new portable device

UCLA researchers have designed a portable imaging system that can diagnose gout, a condition that affects more than 8 million adults in the U.S. alone. The new system is compact and cost-effective, and it could allow many more primary care doctors to screen for the disease, which is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. The research, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, was led by Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA’s Chancellor’s Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering and associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute, and John FitzGerald, a UCLA clinical professor of rheumatology. According to the CDC, the incidence of gout in the United States is nearly three times more prevalent today than it was 50 years ago — likely because of the changing Western diet, and growing rates of obesity and hypertension. The condition occurs when uric acid levels in the blood increase to the point that the uric acid crystallizes. This leaves needle-like crystal deposits in the joints, tendons and ligaments, which triggers severe inflammation. It is caused by a combination of factors including diet, medication and genetics, and it occurs more commonly in those who consume red meat, drink large amounts of beer and are overweight. The definitive test for gout calls for a doctor to draw joint fluid from a patient and then use a device called a compensated polarized light microscope to identify uric acid crystals in the sample. But recent studies hav...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news