Engineering Research Center for Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations (PATHS-UP)

慢性疾病，如糖尿病和心血管疾病（CVD）是发病率和死亡率的主要原因。每30秒就有一个美国人被诊断出患有糖尿病，另一个美国人患冠心病。这些疾病在美国各地服务不足的社区是一种负担，因为它们的患病率较高，获得护理的机会较少。克服这一人力和经济负担是一项巨大的挑战。NSF-ERC针对服务不足人群的精确先进技术和卫生系统（path - up）的愿景是通过在医疗点开发革命性的、具有成本效益的技术和系统，改变服务不足人群的健康模式。由德克萨斯农工大学的Gerard cot<s:1>领导，与加州大学洛杉矶分校、莱斯大学和佛罗里达国际大学合作，pathup带来了杰出的专业知识，克服了POC设备特有的四个障碍，需要：可现场部署、高精度、低复杂性和价格合理。path - up的使命是由两个总体目标定义的：(1)设计变革性的、强大的和负担得起的技术，以改善医疗保健的可及性，提高服务和生活质量，并降低医疗保健成本；(2)招募和教育多样化的科学家和工程师群体，他们将领导未来开发使能技术，以改善服务不足社区的健康。pathup将开发两种变革性工程系统，用于监测慢性病的关键生物标志物（生物化学、生物物理和行为）：手掌实验室（LiyP）和手腕实验室（LoaW）。LiyP将通过基于纳米工程单分子链式反应的新型扩增生物芯片，结合创新的手持计算成像和模块化光谱仪器实现。LoaW将通过独特的“条形码式”生化标记植入物（米粒大小），再加上一种新型的手腕佩戴的光谱成像仪，通过组织和创新的传感器将植入物可视化，以监测生物物理标记（无袖带血压、心率）。pathup还将开发创新算法，监测行为（饮食、药物摄入）并预测长期并发症。这些使能技术建立在生物材料、纳米级系统、样品富集、计算成像、多模态数据集成和机器学习的严格研究基础上。试验台包括独一无二的体外模型、受控实验室环境中的人类受试者研究以及服务不足社区的患者。开发和整合这些转型系统到社区需要一个由工程师、医生、公共卫生专家、行业专业人士和社区卫生领袖组成的多学科团队。如此广泛的技术范围和社会延伸超出了传统的资金来源，需要pathup ERC的成立。该团队将使用参与式设计和社区参与来防止pathup仅仅向这些社区投掷技术，而是开发无缝集成到他们生活中的技术。在美国每个州，服务不足的社区的患病率较高，但获得公平医疗服务的机会较少。因此，这些社区中的许多人没有得到诊断或诊断较晚，这可能导致严重后果。为了应对这一挑战，path - up将开发先进技术来预防、延缓和管理糖尿病和心血管疾病。这既需要发展变革性卫生技术和系统，也需要在如何将这些技术纳入社区方面转变模式。除了该中心明显的社会健康影响之外？该中心培养的学生、博士后和教师？美国的知识界也将是path - up的重要成果。我们的团队热衷于促进与K-College学生的有意义、持久的互动，特别是在我们的合作伙伴服务不足的社区中，少数民族和K-12教师的参与。pathup将为大学生提供体验式学习和新的工程/公共卫生课程，为K-12学生及其教师提供研究经验，并为关键利益相关者和社区参与提供参与式设计机会，以促进丰富的智力环境。该团队也有创业的历史，曾与学生一起创办过生物医学公司，并将建立创新生态系统视为path - up的重要组成部分。

Chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Every 30 seconds one American will be diagnosed with diabetes and another will suffer a coronary event. These diseases are a burden in underserved communities across the US due to higher prevalence and reduced access to care. Overcoming this human and economic burden is a grand challenge. The vision for the NSF-ERC on Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations (PATHS-UP) is to change the paradigm for the health of underserved populations by developing revolutionary, cost-effective technologies and systems at the point-of-care. Led by Gerard Coté at Texas A&amp;M University in partnership with the University of California at Los Angeles, Rice University, and Florida International University, PATHS-UP brings outstanding expertise to overcome four barriers endemic to POC devices, the need to: be field deployable, have high accuracy, have low complexity, and be affordable. The mission of PATHS-UP is defined by two overarching goals: (1) to engineer transformative, robust, and affordable technologies to improve healthcare access, enhance the quality of service and life, and reduce healthcare costs and (2) to recruit and educate a diverse group of scientists and engineers who will lead the future in developing enabling technologies to improve health in underserved communities.PATHS-UP will develop two transformative engineered systems to monitor key biomarkers (biochemical, biophysical, and behavioral) of chronic disease: a Lab-in-your-Palm (LiyP) and a Lab-on-a-Wrist (LoaW). The LiyP will be enabled by novel amplification biochips based on nano-engineered single-molecule chain reactions combined with innovative handheld computational imaging and modular spectroscopic instruments. The LoaW will be enabled by unique, "bar-code like" biochemical marker implants (grain of rice in size) coupled with a novel wrist-worn spectral imager to visualize the implant through tissue and innovative sensors to monitor biophysical markers (cuffless blood pressure, heart rate). PATHS-UP will also develop innovative algorithms that monitor behavior (diet, medication intake) and predict long-term complications. These enabling technologies are founded on rigorous research in biomaterials, nanoscale systems, sample enrichment, computational imaging, multimodal data integration, and machine learning. Testbeds include one-of-a-kind in vitro phantoms, human subject studies in controlled lab environments, and patients in underserved communities. Developing and integrating these transformational systems into communities requires a multidisciplinary team of engineers, medical doctors, public health experts, industry professionals, and community health leaders. Such broad technical scope and societal outreach go beyond traditional funding sources and require the formation of the PATHS-UP ERC. The team will use participatory design and community engagement to prevent PATHS-UP from merely throwing technologies at these communities, and instead develop technologies that seamlessly integrate into their lives.Underserved communities in every US state have higher prevalence and less access to equitable healthcare services. Thus, many people in these communities go undiagnosed or are diagnosed late, which can lead to serious consequences. To address this challenge, PATHS-UP will develop advanced technologies to prevent, delay the onset, and manage diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This requires both the development of transformational health technologies and systems and a paradigm shift in how these technologies are integrated into communities. Beyond the obvious societal health impact of the Center?s systems, the students, post-docs, and faculty nurtured by the Center?s intellectual community will also be a significant outcome of PATHS-UP. The team has a passion to promote meaningful, lasting, engagement with K-College students, especially under-represented minorities and K-12 teachers in our partner underserved communities. PATHS-UP will provide experiential learning and new engineering/public health curriculum for college students, research experiences for K-12 students and their teachers, and opportunities for participatory design with key stakeholders and community engagement, to promote a rich intellectual environment. The team also has a history of entrepreneurship, having spun off biomedical companies with students, and see building the innovation ecosystem as a vital part of PATHS-UP.