Medical diagnostic testing has moved to a new level with the application of nanoscale biomolecular diagnostics, although the science is not yet fully developed. Robert I. Roth, Ph.D. and Ted Dunkelberger, senior director of the Weinberg Group cite the potentials of the science for diagnosis in toxic tort litigation, noting that nanoscience "is the expanded capability for risk-free molecular detection of minimal disease," thus replacing invasive procedures such as lung or liver biopsies.
 
One example they cite is the use of instruments "such as the Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometer and Ion Mobility Spectrometer [that ...] provide non-invasive highly sensitive analysis of exhaled breath. Trace gas analysis in exhaled breath for biomarkers of inflammation, liver or kidney dysfunction, and even lung or esophageal cancer, are all actual or developmental technologies that could help medical diagnostics achieve detection of early, minimal disease states," Roth and Dunkelberger say.
 
Use of minimal disease development identification through breath analysis would be useful in a variety of toxic tort claims. An example is the hundreds of asbestosis claims where a worker may have been exposed to asbestos but has not contracted the disease, yet is fearful and making a claim. Breath analysis is not new. It has been used for decades in detecting alcohol levels in suspected intoxicated drivers. Now, the new technology brings a painless and much cheaper way to detect certain diseases earlier than in the past, or to rule them out.
 
It is not clear if written permission for breath analysis would be required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules in an insurance claim independent medical examination. Caution would suggest that specific permission for such a test - even though it is non-invasive - be obtained from the claimant or attorney.
 
It is precisely this type of information about cutting-edge technology and the warnings about investigative approval that is included in the casualty courses offered by Crawford Educational Services. For complete course listings, please visit our website.