Patients with the disease primary biliary cirrhosis suffer from severe bouts of itching, manifested by chronic scratching. In order to evaluate the efficacy of experimental drugs that may relieve the itching, it is necessary to quantify the scratching. A piezoelectric foil cemented to the patient's primary scratching fingernail will transduce mechanical vibrations generated by the scratching into an electrical signal, which is applied to the input of a miniature FM transmitter. After the signal is obtained with an FM receiver, it will be processed by a custom-designed frequency counter, which in turn is interrogated and reset periodically by a personal computer. The study will consist of measurement periods of six to eight hours, both before treatment and after treatment with specific drugs. Each patient will serve as his or her own control.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
Type
Intramural Research (Z01)
Project #
1Z01RR010303-03
Application #
3874181
Study Section
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
National Center for Research Resources
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
State
Country
United States
Zip Code