According to Dr. Seila Selimovic, a Biosensors Expert at NIH www.nih.gov, “The variety of biosensors used by researchers, clinicians, and people from every walk of life is growing.” Today new biosensor technologies can be combined with smart phone cameras and wireless signaling which enables health tests to be more portable and affordable than lab-based equipment.
For example, blood oxygen monitors are now found throughout hospitals and in patients’ homes that can detect changes in the level of oxygen in the bloodstream. These monitors are used for patients with lung and heart conditions, patients undergoing anesthesia, and patients being treated in intensive, neonatal, or emergency care, and used to monitor blood sugar levels.
Flexible sensors are making even more types of monitoring possible. Dr. Patrick Mercier and Dr. Joseph Wang at the University of California, San Diego https://ucsd.edu are leading a team to develop a flexible sensor to measure blood alcohol levels.
The sensor would release a sweat-promoting chemical into the skin and detects alcohol in the sweat. The sensor would then send the information wirelessly to a laptop or mobile devices. Similar devices are being developed by other groups to monitor cystic fibrosis and other diseases and conditions.
At the University of Minnesota https://twin-cities.umn.edu, researchers led by Dr. Michael McAlpine have developed inks for 3-D printing sensors that are flexible, stretchable, and sensitive. These sensors can be used to detect human movements by being printed directly onto skin and be used to detect body signals like a pulse.
NIH also supports research to use sensors to gather data about environmental and other factors related to childhood asthma. These sensor systems monitor what children are exposed to and their body’s reactions.
Dr. Zhenyu Li, Biomedical Engineer at George Washington University www.gwu.edu is developing a sensor that can be worn on a child’s wrist to detect formaldehyde an air pollutant that can trigger asthma.
Dr Li expects to have a wearable sensor prototype available soon to enable patients to be tested and working on a device that can be placed in a child’s home. The device will be able to detect multiple air pollutants, such as pollutants found in tobacco smoke and some manufactured wood products.
Also, Dr. Natalie Wisniewski, Biomedical Engineer at Profusa http://profusa.com a medical device company in San Francisco, is developing miniature sensors that can be injected under the skin. These sensors automatically track chemicals in the body without drawing blood and the sensors can last for months or years.