Esophageal pH monitoring developed a dependable external reference electrode. Using this technique to monitor esophageal acid exposure patients for periods up to 24 hours, DeMeester and Johnson were able to identify the most important parameters of esophageal acid exposure, and they developed a composite pH score to quantify gastroesophageal reflux. The initial 24-hour pH studies required hospitalization until the introduction of microcircuits in the 1980s that allowed portable esophageal pH monitoring in an outpatient setting. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disease in western countries. In the United States, 7% of the population experiences heartburn daily and 44% at least once a
Ortek Therapeutics Ortek Therapeutics Ortek Therapeutics, Inc. is a private healthcare company based in Roslyn Heights, New York which specializes in researching and commercializing oral care products. It was founded in 1998. To date, Ortek's commercial success is based on the company's patented AlkaGen Technology (an arginine bicarbonate/calcium carbonate complex). The Company plans on incorporating this technology in their sugarless soft chews, BasicBites. Arginine is a common amino acid found in many foods and is also naturally found in saliva. On tooth surfaces, arginine is broken down by certain pH rising plaque bacteria to acid-neutralizing alkali. This results in a sustained neutral