I-Corps: Stress Quantification Using Extended-Gate Sensing Technology

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发用于监测在高压力环境中工作的个人的压力水平的护理点设备。心理压力对身体健康有重要影响，但用目前的方法检测汗液或唾液中微量的化学物质，很难检测和监测压力水平。然而，由于敏感性、时间、成本、可移植性和可重复性，这是有限的。建议的技术通过无线连接提供早期压力检测和通信。潜在用户包括运动员、军事人员、商业飞行员和有高血压和心脏功能障碍等既往健康状况的个人。这项技术可以与医疗保健、保险和临床医生等行业的其他利益相关者联系起来。这个i-Corps项目是基于一种用于测量汗液和唾液中皮质醇激素水平的护理点式设备的开发。这项技术使用分子印迹聚合物(MIP)通过电化学检测来传感皮质醇--一种在体液中发现的应激生物标记物--旨在实时定量监测和检测皮质醇水平。采用扩展栅场效应晶体管(EG-FET)作为传感器，检测MIPs的电化学响应，并从传感器上直接读出。该EG-FET皮质醇传感平台具有小型化和自动化能力，可轻松实现工业化生产。该传感器通过提供皮质醇生物标志物的实时可视化，将有助于低成本的临床诊断。其目标是将该设备转化为物联网设备，用于将无线数据传输到智能手机应用程序，以监测皮质醇水平。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of point-of-care device for monitoring stress levels in individuals working in high-stress environments. Psychological stress has important impact on physical health, but detecting and monitoring stress levels is difficult with current methods detecting trace amounts of chemicals in sweat or saliva. However, this is limited due to sensitivity, time, cost, portability, and reproducibility. The proposed technology provides early stress detection and communication through wireless connectivity. Potential users include athletes, military personnel, commercial pilots, and individuals with preexisting health conditions such as hypertension and cardiac dysfunction. The technology could be linked to other stakeholders in industries such as health care, insurance, and clinicians. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a point-of-care device for measuring cortisol hormone levels in sweat and saliva. The technology uses molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) for sensing cortisol – a stress biomarker found in body fluids - by electrochemical detection, which is designed to quantitatively monitor and detect cortisol levels in real-time. An extended-gate field-effect transistor (EG-FET) is used as a transducer to detect the electrochemical response of MIPs and to take a direct readout from the sensor. This EG-FET cortisol sensing platform may be easily produced at an industrial scale with miniaturization and automation capabilities. The sensor will aid in low-cost clinical diagnostics by providing real-time visualization of cortisol biomarkers. The goal is to translate this device into an IoT device for wireless data transmission to a smartphone app to monitor cortisol levels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.