Cholesterol Measurer Developed Device To Be Manufactured At Post Falls Plant

A Sandpoint-based company plans to begin marketing a cholesterol counting device this summer.

The Post Falls plant that makes the device eventually will employ between 20 and 50 workers.

The Cholestron is a hand-held device that gives cholesterol readings within three minutes. It’s faster and cheaper than other cholesterol counters on the market, said Christopher Maus, president of Lifestream Technologies.

Cholestron was tested at a Seattle laboratory in April, and met federal Food and Drug Administration requirements, Maus said.

“We’re just waiting for final FDA approval,” he said.

The Cholestron will retail for $199 to $399, Maus said. Lifestream will market the product to doctors’ offices and pharmacies.

The device uses a finger-prick to gather blood. It’s similar to the glucose tests that diabetics use.

People on cholesterol-lowering medications could stop at a pharmacy for readings between office visits, Maus said.

Many doctors use a 48-hour lab test to check cholesterol levels, Maus said. The Cholestron also will compete with a screening system that retails for around $2,000, and cholesterol-testing kits that can be used at home.

Lifestream has leased 6,000 square feet of space in the Riverbend Commerce Park for production and shipping facilities.

The company eventually plans to move its headquarters from Sandpoint to Fort Collins, Colo., to be near other companies that produce health and beauty supplies, Maus said.

Lifestream recently hired several managers from Fort Collins, and it’s easier to move the headquarters than relocate people, Maus said. Lifestream is still deciding whether it will keep an office in Sandpoint, and has not set a time line for the move, Maus said.

The company employs about 15 people.