I-Corps: Non-invasive Indirect Calorimetry using Transdermal Optical Sensors for Diagnosis and Treatment of Metabolic Diseases

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种光学传感器，可以真实的测量燃烧的卡路里。所提出的技术解决了医生和营养师准确绘制患者代谢率的需求，这可以提供信息以帮助指导适当的营养并显着降低重病患者的成本。此外，专业运动员和健身行业的其他人可以利用这种技术来进一步发展和跟踪他们的表现，为他们的教练和运动医学人员提供关键信息。 目前的标准技术，如代谢推车，体积大，成本高（5万美元），需要密集的培训和人员进行操作。作为一种廉价的替代方案，临床医生依靠粗略的计算和每日体重测量来指导患者的营养。这些预测方程往往不准确，不具有包容性，只适用于人口的一个子集。营养师努力为各种患者做出估计，特别是早产儿和肥胖患者，接受肝脏移植手术或患有甲状腺问题。从拟议的设备准确的代谢信息可能会显着提高护理质量，减少再入院率，住院时间，并发症，并有助于降低成本和积极的医疗结果。这个I-Corps项目是基于光学传感器的发展，评估特殊气体分析物的浓度在血流中，以量化最终用户的代谢率。目标是将代谢传感器实现为可穿戴设备，以测量患者肢体（手指或耳朵）的卡路里输出。 代谢率传感器采用经皮或经皮非侵入式光学传感器，可测量血液中的二氧化碳（CO2）和氧气（O2）水平。入射光与通过组织收集的光的比率将提供计算患者能量消耗所需的数据。由于热量燃料在体内燃烧时存在O2，因此在呼出之前会产生CO2。该传感器系统采用低成本的发光二极管（LED）和光电二极管来测量O2和CO2光谱标记特定波长处的光的吸收和散射。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 an optical sensor that measures calories burned in real time. The proposed technology addresses the need for physicians and dieticians to accurately map a patient’s metabolic rate, which may provide information to assist in guiding proper nutrition and significantly reduce costs in seriously ill patients. In addition, professional athletes and others in the fitness industry may utilize such a technology to further develop and track their performance, providing crucial information to their coaches and sports medicine personnel. Current standard technologies, such as the metabolic cart, are large, cost-prohibitive ($50K), and require intensive training and personnel for operation. As an inexpensive alternative, clinicians rely on crude calculations and daily weight measurements to guide patient nutrition. These predictive equations are often not accurate and are non-inclusive, only applying to a subset of the population. Dietitians struggle with making estimates for a variety of patients, especially for premature infants and patients that are obese, undergoing liver transplant surgeries, or suffering from thyroid problems. Accurate metabolic information from the proposed device may significantly increase quality of care, reduce readmission rates, length of stay, and complications, and contribute to reduced costs and positive healthcare outcomes.This I-Corps project is based on the development of an optical sensor that evaluates peculiar gas analyte concentrations in the bloodstream to quantify the end-user’s metabolic rate. The goal is to implement the metabolism sensor as a wearable device to measure calorie output from a patient’s extremity (finger or ear). The metabolic rate sensor utilizes a transdermal or transcutaneous, non-invasive optical sensor that measures carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) levels in the blood. The ratio of incident light to collected light through tissue will provide the data needed to calculate the patient’s energy expenditure. As caloric fuel is burned in the body in the presence of O2, CO2 is produced before being exhaled. The sensor system employs low-cost light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodiodes to measure the absorption and scattering of light at wavelengths specific to spectral markers of O2 and CO2. A proprietary algorithm adopted from the Weir equation estimates the number of calories burned in real time from continuous spectral measurement.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.