I-Corps: An inexpensive biosensor for home monitoring of human health

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力与开发家庭保健诊断工具的需求有关。该项目可能会让消费者在家里管理更多的医疗需求，从而帮助实现医疗保健提供方式的转变。目前，有一些物理/机械设备可以做到这一点；例如，血压袖口和无线秤，以帮助管理心脏病。相比之下，家庭使用的化学设备屈指可数：主要是用于管理糖尿病的血糖仪。该项目将开发的传感器将有可能帮助500万美国心力衰竭患者以低成本和舒适的家庭环境管理他们的慢性疾病。这将改善家庭医疗保健的提供，延长生命，节省资金，并极大地提高生活质量。这个i-Corps项目基于一个简单的传感器，它可以检测心脏健康特征的目标分子的存在。该检测策略使用了一种新的电化学方法，可以从患者的一小滴血液中提供有关心脏健康的定量信息。检测只需要大约5分钟，检测结果通过安全的手机连接传输到医生的办公室。传感器平台是用纸制成的，与喷墨打印机中使用的一样，检测目标所需的电极是通过丝网印刷制成的。这些简单的材料和制造方法有助于确保生产设备的成本较低。初步结果表明，该传感器的预原型版本能够检测到尿液中肾功能衰竭的目标特征。然而，仍有必要证明该设备可以对未过滤的全血起作用。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project relates to the need of developing diagnostic tools for home healthcare. The project may help enable a shift in the way healthcare is delivered by potentially having consumers manage more of their healthcare needs at home. At present, there are a few physical/mechanical devices available for doing this; for example, blood pressure cuffs and wireless scales for helping to manage heart disease. In contrast, there are just a tiny handful of chemical devices available for home use: primarily the glucometer for managing diabetes. The sensor that will be developed in this project will potentially help the 5 million American sufferers of heart failure manage their chronic disease at a low cost and in the comfort of their own home. This will improve the delivery of home healthcare, extend lives, save money, and greatly improve the quality of life.This I-Corps project is based on a simple sensor that detects the presence of a target molecule characteristic of cardiac health. The detection strategy employs a novel electrochemical method that provides quantitative information about heart health from a tiny drop of the patient's blood. Detection takes just about 5 minutes, and the outcome of the assay is transmitted to a doctor's office via a secure cell phone connection. The sensor platform is made of paper, like that used in ink jet printers, and electrodes necessary for detection of the target are made by screen printing. These simple materials and fabrication methods help to ensure that the cost of producing the device is low. Preliminary results show that a pre-prototype version of the sensor is able to detect a target characteristic of kidney failure in urine. It is still necessary, however, to demonstrate that the device will work with unfiltered whole blood.