The term ‘biomarker’ refers to a broad subcategory of medical signs that are objective indications of the medical state observed from outside the patient. A biomarker should be measured accurately and reproducibly.
There is no reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning. This is something that the CO Research Trust has been working towards for many years and has commissioned a number of research projects.
Click here to view all the projects relating to biomarkers funded by the CO Research Trust.
Finding a reliable biomarker would improve the diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning, and therefore ensure that those who need treatment receive it.
If all cases of carbon monoxide exposure were identified, a true picture of the scale of carbon monoxide poisoning would emerge, allowing for proper resources to be directed where necessary.
This may include the development of new techniques, improved patient pathways, and improvements in the application of technology.
One such project looking at new techniques to improve carbon monoxide diagnosis, which has been funded by the CO Research Trust, relates to Pupillometry.
The project, being carried out by PhD student Sean England at the University of Hertfordshire, is looking at the 'Evaluation of Chromodynamic Pupillometry as a Sensitive Indicator of carbon monoxide exposure'.
Read more about the Pupillometry project here.