Inventors:
John D. Maynard - Albuquerque NM, US
Nathaniel Matter - Albuquerque NM, US
Baqiyyah Conway - Hermitage TN, US
Trevor Orchard - Monroeville PA, US
International Classification:
A61B 5/1455, A61B 6/00
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.