Hypotheses and Assumptions

Four more tests to go and Nad will have completed all the scheduled tests on unadulterated sample collected from Donor 3 on 8/19/12.       (Done.)

Then we will begin hydration testing.

That is telling us that 2 month old sample is still viable.

Which means that sample collected from one donor could have been used in the training of a seizure alert dog for 2 months.

And if, as Scott Smith, Tidewater K9s,  has found with hydrated blood glucose saliva sample, he is able to add an additional month of testing using hydration produced second generation sample, that adds an additional month of training opportunity with this single sample collection.

Dr Dana Sue Hardin, Eli Lilly researcher, is finding in her testing of saliva blood glucose sample, that her unadulterated sample appears viable up to 3 weeks before indicating a breakdown of scent or appearance of biological contamination.

Means of preservation is playing a huge role in longevity of sample.

And acquisition of donor sample continues to be the greatest challenge - for testing and, ultimately will be for training as well.

The Seizure Alert Project presently has two dogs in two locations testing sample from multiple donors.  Our minimum goal is to have sample from 3 different donors tested using the Testing Plan for Donor Sample before making hypotheses or assumptions.  We hope to have the opportunity to compare Multi Donor Sample following that Testing Plan.  The test for Viability Age will be ongoing.

But it is difficult to refrain from making premature assumptions as we watch these dogs work the scent wheel with such confidence and assurance.

New Considerations

As testing progresses, it is also being refined.  And new questions and considerations present themselves.

What is the influence of bacteria upon the sample?  We have come across our first sample that shows physical contamination.  We cancelled the test (I:D Saliva Target Sample with donor non-seizure sample) but preserved the contaminated sample by re-freezing it.  We will use it for testing purposes once we determine how to conduct the test.

How small can a sample be to be effective?  We received a single saliva seizure sample and a single skin swab seizure sample and cut it in half diagonally, creating 2 sample.  But could we have successfully tested if the gauze pad had been cut into quarters?  Or eighths?

When we remember that the ultimate goal of our testing is to collect empirical information about seizure sample to be used for training purposes, then the greatest potential of even a single sample is critical knowledge to have.  So we shall add another tests regarding sample size.

If we are able to find an appropriate donor, does pre-ictal sample have the same scent as post ictal scent?  We want to first complete multiple tests of current sample types with multiple donors tested with multiple dogs before pursuing this possibility.

Dr Hardin reports that in her seizure scent research, all roads lead back to the hormone, prolactin.  What opportunities do we have in the SAP to pursue that avenue?  And then that thinking leads us to wonder, could synthetic prolactin be a viable scent source for training seizure alert?

Yesterday, while working with a veteran with PTSD, Nad performed what might be interpreted as an untrained alert behavior when the Marine experienced the beginnings of a panic attack.  He was sweating.  Nad has been testing skin sweat sample this week.

Could Nad have been reacting to sweat production?  He easily discerns the difference between non-event skin sweat sample vs seizure skin sweat sample on the scent wheel.

Could there be a common element found in a panic attack and also in a seizure?  And could we find an answer through our testing?

We have asked for panic attack sample from Freedom Dogs Marines.....saliva, skin sweat swabs and clothing.  We must remember to also ask for non-event sample.

The Service Dogs of Virginia have successfully trained 4 working DAD (Diabetic Alert Dogs) using unadulterated clothing sample that is stored at room temperature for training purposes.  We are planning to take a portion of the clothing sample from Donor 3 and preserve and test it following the Service Dogs of Virginia model.

Ending a Test

When do we conclude a test?

• When the test meets the Baseline Criteria, of course.

• Because we don't begin having the dog testing live sample until we are confident that she has a thorough understanding of all tests performed on the test wheel, we will consider the scent to not be viable when the dog has completed 3 subsequent sets with an AB of 80% success rate or lower.

Whenever a test is concluded (TC) without meeting the Baseline Criteria, using the current Sample we will re-introduce the test in a teaching model.  If, after completion of the entire scope of re-teaching the test, the SS appears to have a viable, detectable scent, the test may then be repeated.

Repeated tests will be indicated within parenthesis.  i.e.  SS Test I:C (2)

Any test may be repeated once per Sample before it is considered to be not viable for training purposes.