SBIR Phase I: A novel multianalyte microsensor platform for continuous wireless monitoring applications

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of an innovative and user-friendly continuous wireless sensing platform for simultaneously monitoring multiple analytes and physiological parameters. The wireless sensor market is worth $13 Billion and is growing 10% annually. There is an under-penetration in the market due to the unmet need of an easy-to-use sensing platform that can provide users with quantitative and continuous data about their studies in real-time as compared to discrete sampling techniques used currently. This is because the current continuous sensors are either wired or bulky (discrete wireless), are disruptive to the studies, require special insertion procedures (e.g., complex surgeries for animal research), and do not easily integrate with the experimental workflow. Given our experience in wireless sensor development for diabetes, many researchers have asked us to develop a platform technology for biochemical sensing to enable research in materials science, pharmaceutical, in vitro diagnostics, protein engineering, and disease pathways. Such a platform can revolutionize biomedical researchers with a tool to study new drugs, cell cultures, artificially grown organs, bioinspired materials. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is intended to develop a unique monolithic semiconductor platform capable of wirelessly monitoring multiple biochemical and physiological markers simultaneously at a sub-mm3 footprint. This enables the device to be used in a variety of applications where conventional larger sensors can’t be used, including test tubes, multi-well plates, and cell cultures. Moreover, the platform can be injected under the skin using a needle-based insertion device, eliminating complicated surgical procedures currently used. The wireless miniature design results in a stable sensor-environment interface as opposed to the current wired and the bulky wireless devices that suffer from constant variation in response due to constant interface irritation. Furthermore, it’s extremely small size minimizes foreign body response, which is proportional to device size, and implantation injury, and hence minimizes calibration frequency. Micro/nano design is used to fabricate patterned electrodes on the top layer of a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) to form a fully integrated system without the need for discrete packaging used in current products. This enhances manufacturability and reduces unit cost in volume production. After successful feasibility in this Phase-I, we will optimize the system and develop a manufacturing plan to commercialize it in Phase-II.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.