AAH GROUP

• Stress: The Curse of the 21st Century
  Stress has been called the scourge of the 21st century.  An estimated 1 in 10
  people suffer from work-related stress (Health & Safety Exec Info Sheet, Feb
  2002) at a cost to the British economy of £3.7 billion annually in lost output.   
  Studies have shown that excessive stress over a prolonged period can lead to
  mental & physical illness, including depression, nervous breakdown and heart
  disease.
• It would be fair to say that everyone is aware of workplace stress and the Health and Safety Act of 1974 in relation to it. Workplace stress is now part of risk assessment.  Everyone is aware of the benefits of a healthier workforce, but very few really know what the options are. Unlike smoking in the workplace, which can be detected, stress cannot.
• OxfordMedistress have developed a revolutionary technique to help companies and stress management consultants measure stress levels in employees.
• If you can measure stress, you can validate stress levels. Then reduce it, and therefore not have to face possible costly litigation claims from employees at a future date.
• Outside of the corporate sector Medistress have worked with premiership football clubs including Manchester Utd and Reading. 

How does it work?

CopingCapacity™ Stress Test Kit

Stress Measurement Kit: Measuring stress from a single drop of blood 

Attributes of the system:

•         Simple: CopingCapacity™ kit is easy-to-use

•         Rapid: Results available in 10 minutes

•         Stable: Freeze-dried reagents are shelf-stable for months (no freezing required)

•         Low cost: Consumable reagents are low cost to manufacture but high-value in marketplace

•         Novel: Uses the body’s cells as bio-indicators; the only test that monitors multi-faceted effects of stress

Overview of the CopingCapacity™ System

Our proprietary CopingCapacity™ kit provides a subject’s physiological and psychological stress response (or “capacity to cope”) by monitoring immune function through a method called Leukocyte Coping Capacity (LCC).  A drop of blood from a finger-prick is mixed with our proprietary chemicals, which mimic a bacterial challenge.  The ability of the leukocytes (white blood cells) to respond to such an in vitro challenge is evaluated using a hand-held reader.  Results and interpretation are available within minutes, so that interventions can be applied, if required.  The Directors have found no other currently marketed test or monitoring system, which provides the information that this test can provide.

Examples from Other Sporting Applications

The technique is currently being applied by a UK Olympic swimming coach (a member of “British Swimming”) who is using the technique to optimise the training regime of his elite swimmers (enabling them to maximise the benefits of training). 

“… Due to the interpretation of results in swimming I have been able to adjust training loads to individual athletes and hence have achieved a longer, sustained, targeted period of training - which leads to optimal conditioning...”   - Nick Sellwood, Olympic Swim Coach

How do I use the test?

Preparing Reagents

1. Switch on Dry Block Heater (comes as part of the kit but not included in briefcase)

Plug in heater & switch on 10 minutes before the procedure to allow heater to warm to 37.5degrees C

B    Plug in luminometer or charge up before use

C. Prepare reagents in Luminometer tubes (marked with yellow dot)

Wear gloves and appropriate protection

1. Take tube A out of the freezer.

Each tube contains enough freeze-dried reagents for a single measurement

2.   Add 100 micro litres of liquid from test tube B (kept in fridge) using pipette 

3        Mix tubes vigorously for at least 2 minutes (a pipette can be used to suck liquid up and down or a vortex mixer if available)

4        Place tubes in dry heater block

Collecting Small Blood Sample

Standard care should be used when dealing with blood samples. Gloves should be worn if taking blood from others (risk of needle stick injury, blood borne diseases etc).

1. Wash hands vigorously with warm water to increase circulation or
2. Rub finger on hand (increases blood supply) for 30 seconds Any finger of the left or right and can be used
3. Wipe finger tip with sterile alcohol swab
4. Allow Alcohol to dry (approx 1 minute) or the procedure will sting
5. Hang your hand down by your side for 30 to 50 seconds so the blood can pool.
6. Milk your finger from the bottom to the tip.
7. Shake your hand down.
8. Twist off and discard lancet cap
9. Put finger on a flat surface such as a table
10. Press platform of lancet against finger tip (the side of a fingertip is ideal)
11. Press platform firmly against chosen site, press and release

Transferring blood into tube

1. Use pipette to transfer 10 micro litres blood  into the bottom of illuminometer tube (pre-filled with reagents). Avoid air bubbles
2. Shake the tube and replace into dry heater block for 10 minutes.

Taking Luminometer reading

       1. When blood samples have been incubated for 10 minutes at 37.5 degrees They are ready ‘to be read’ by the luminometer

2.   Press red button to switch luminometer on (a 30 second automatic calibration will be performed.

3. Flick button on the top left of machine to the tight (to open device)

4. Take tube from dry heater, shake vigorously and lower into luminometer using ‘hold tite’ device. Close lid

5. Make a note of the reading and compare to standard reference values.

Summary

• Our proprietary method can be used in a number of ways including: