Laboratory of General Physiopathology

Coordinator:

Miguel Castelo Branco

E-MAIL

mcbranco@fcsaude.ubi.pt

The general physiopathology laboratory of UBIMEDICAL is a unit of epidemiological evaluation, service provision and research aimed at the evaluation of parameters related to human respiratory function and the elasticity of the organs by non-invasive methods. It is capable of evaluating ventilation in normal and pathological situations at rest and in exercise, the Ecographic analysis of thoracic and abdominal structures, the non-invasive elasticity of organs such as the liver, being possible this evaluation from the pediatric age to the adult and the evaluation of the adipose infiltration of organs such as the liver, allowing the characterization of pathological phenomena that increases stiffness, such as fibrosis.

Research

Epidemiological characterization of the respiratory function of the population and analysis of its evolution, especially in situations of disease such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and epidemiological characterization of asthma in elderly patients.
Evaluation of home-based respiratory / cardiac rehabilitation programs using telemedicine.
Characterization of the phenomena and chronic diseases that condition hepatic injury and its monitoring, from the pediatric age to adulthood.
Evaluation and monitoring of the consequences in the massive organs, such as the liver, of their adipose infiltration.
Importance of evaluation of liver fibrosis and its consequences in chronic diseases such as hepatitis C and their therapeutic implications.
Clinical and translational research studies in respiratory and hepatic diseases

Services

Functional respiratory tests to assess the pathophysiological cause underlying exercise limitation in various clinical settings such as heart failure versus respiratory failure.
Performing spirometry, cardiopulmonary exercise tests, walking test 6 minutes, long-term oximetry.
Evaluation of non-invasive hepatic fibrosis in all age groups (*).
Evaluation of non-invasive hepatic steatosis in all age groups (*).

(*) only equipment with this potential in the region

Equipment

Blood collection kit – gasimetry
Air Quality Testers
Body composition measuring device
Equipment for evaluation of respiratory function
Ultrasound for residual volume detection
Equipment for determining genetic polymorphisms (PCR)
Ultrasound
Fibroscan equipment