SBIR Phase II: Novel progesterone biosensor for monitoring fertility health

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目为美国770多万不孕症女性提供了一种定量和负担得起的方式来评估她们的排卵健康。这种孕酮生物传感器是为改善家庭血液诊断和远程医疗实施而建立的平台技术的第一个成果。该项目将产生一种新型的廉价，实时和即时生物传感器。该产品的商业化还可以提高公众对生物传感器和家庭诊断的参与度和舒适度。与信息视频、网站页面和研讨会相配合，该产品的商业化将提高科学素养。最后，该产品的可负担性可能有助于缩小获得生育技术的差距，使更多的社会经济弱势群体和服务不足的人群有平等的机会评估他们的生育能力。要解决的技术障碍是首先将光学转换技术转换到低成本的试纸条上，然后确定生物传感器作为试纸条的功效。然后，该团队将开发一种低成本的便携式测量设备，可以读取纸张横向流动条。预期的技术结果是一种侧流条装置，其可以从从未怀孕的妇女、患有多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）的妇女、绝经前妇女后，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持的，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值，更广泛的影响审查标准。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project provides more 7.7 million women in the U.S. struggling with infertility a quantitative and affordable way to assess their ovulatory health. This progesterone biosensor is the first outcome of a platform technology built to improve at-home blood diagnostics and telehealth implementation. This project will produce a novel class of inexpensive, real-time, and point-of-care biosensors. The commercialization of this product may also increase public engagement and comfort with biosensors and at-home diagnostics. In concert with informational videos, website pages, and workshops the commercialization of this product will improve scientific literacy. Finally, the affordability of this product may help narrow the disparity of access to fertility technology allowing for more socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved populations equal opportunity to assess their fertility.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is developing a novel class of biosensors for progesterone. The technical hurdles to be addressed are to first translate optical transduction technology onto low-cost paper strips, then to determine the efficacy of the biosensors as paper test strips. The team will then develop a low-cost and portable measurement device which reads the paper lateral flow strips. The anticipated technical results are a lateral-flow strip device which can measure progesterone from clinical blood samples of women who have never been pregnant, women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), pre-menopausal women, and post-menopausal women down to levels which indicate successful ovulation.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.