I-Corps: Accurate, Contiguous and Portable Wireless Intraocular Contact Lens Pressure Sensors

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种用于监测高眼压（眼内压或IOP）的设备，这是青光眼的唯一已知体征，可能导致视力丧失并影响患者的生活质量。青光眼是导致60岁以上人群失明的主要原因，在美国影响约300万人。青光眼的发病率预计到2020年将上升到7600万，到2040年全球将达到1.12亿人。 不幸的是，青光眼是不可治愈的，但它是通过适当的治疗管理。虽然IOP是一个高度动态的参数，但常规测量无法在24小时内跟踪它。紧凑便携的无线接触式透镜传感器（CLS）系统可以实现IOP的连续实时监测，并确保临床安全性和患者舒适度。这种类型的系统也可以适用于身体其他部位的其他压力测量。这个I-Corps项目基于量子力学中的宇称时间（PT）对称性发展到射频（RF）遥测传感系统中，从而实现了提高多功能零功率无线压力传感器（例如，眼内、颅内和其它生物压力）。具体来说，该团队的PT遥测技术采用了一种有源损耗补偿电路，不仅可以补偿微创微传感器的功耗，还可以在重要生理因素（即，更高的灵敏度），这要归功于PT系统中发现的异常点周围的特征值分叉效应。这种无线读出技术将被利用来连续记录来自生物相容性的单片微制造CLS的IOP水平，具有增强的灵敏度和可分辨性。此外，机器学习和信号处理算法将被用于解决实际IOP监测中的长期稳定性和信号漂移问题。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 a device to monitor high eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP), the only known sign of glaucoma, which could cause vision loss and influence patients’ quality of life. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness for people over 60 years old and affects approximately 3 million people in the USA. The incidence of glaucoma is expected to rise to 76 million by 2020 and 112 million people by 2040 worldwide. Unfortunately, glaucoma is not curable, but it is manageable with proper treatments. Although IOP is a highly dynamic parameter, conventional measurements fail to track it for a 24-hour period. A compact and portable wireless contact lens sensor (CLS) system can enable continuous, real-time monitoring of IOP and ensure clinical safety and patient comfort. This type of system could be adapted for other pressure measurements in other parts of the body as well. This I-Corps project is based on the development of parity-time (PT) symmetry in quantum mechanics into radio-frequency (RF) telemetric sensing systems, enabling new ways to enhance resolution, accuracy, and sensitivity of versatile zero-power wireless pressure sensors (e.g., intraocular, intracranial and other biological pressures). Specifically, the team’s PT telemetry technologies employed an active loss-compensation circuit, which not only can compensate the power dissipation in minimally-invasive microsensors, but also allows a large shift of peak frequency under changes in vital physiological factors (i.e., a higher sensitivity), thanks to the eigenvalue bifurcation effect around the exceptional points found in PT systems. This wireless readout technology will be exploited to continuously record IOP levels from a biocompatible, monolithically microfabricated CLS, with enhanced sensitivity and resolvability. In addition, machine learning and signal processing algorithms will be exploited to address the long-term stability and signal drift issues in the practical IOP monitoring.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.