A multiplexed micro-suction biomarker extraction device to understand atopic eczema in babies

在皮肤下面，有两条化学信息的高速公路。其中之一是血液，用针头取样，从中提取的化学信息用于了解，诊断和治疗疾病。第二种是间质液，与血液相比，它含有更多可检测的化学信号，但由于取样困难，目前还没有用于临床诊断或治疗疾病。本项目将开发一种新的无针原型医疗设备，该设备已在人体中显示，通过皮肤拉伸提取间质液，并将其应用于临床。该设备的创新方面是其使用低压压力来拉伸皮肤组织，以重塑胶原蛋白，打开皮肤附属物，并选择性地提取皮肤间质液。最初的开发将使用健康成年人作为测试对象，该设备将经历四个开发原型阶段，以优化其提取生物标志物的能力。从皮肤中提取的生物标志物的类型和水平将使用质谱法确定，这些化学信号将与血液中的化学信号进行比较。借助皮肤拉伸和组织间液提取的新型集成数学模型，新的医疗设备将专门针对婴儿进行调整和缩放。从成人到婴儿的过渡将通过试点耐受性研究来帮助，然后新的医疗设备将用于从患有特应性湿疹的婴儿的受损和非受损皮肤中提取生物标志物。这项工作的成果将包括，一种用于提取皮肤间质液的新医疗设备，一种新的皮肤液体提取数学模型，可用于优化设备以满足一系列医疗需求，也是第一次深入了解婴儿在出生后的头几个月患上特应性湿疹后化学信号是如何变化的。

Underneath the skin, there are two superhighways of chemical information. One of these is the blood, which is sampled using a needle, and the chemical information taken from it is used to understand, diagnose and treat disease. The second, the interstitial fluid, contains more detectable chemical signals compared to the blood, but it is not currently used in clinical practice to diagnose or treat disease because it is difficult to sample.In this project, a new, needle-free prototype medical device that has been shown in humans to extract interstitial fluid through skin stretching will be developed to the point that it can be used in clinical practice. The innovative aspect of the device is its use of hypobaric pressure to stretch the skin tissue in a manner that remodels collagen, opens skin appendages, and selectively extracts skin interstitial fluid. The initial development will occur using healthy adults as the test subjects and the device will pass through four developmental prototyping phases to optimise its ability to extract biomarkers. The types and levels of biomarkers extracted from the skin will be determined using mass spectrometry and these chemical signals will be compared to those in the blood. With the aid of a novel integrated mathematical model of skin stretching and interstitial fluid extraction, the new medical device will be specifically adapted and scaled for use in babies. The transition from adults to babies will be aided through pilot tolerability studies and then the new medical device will be employed to extract biomarkers from lesioned and non-lesioned skin of babies with atopic eczema.The outcomes of the work will include, a new medical device for the extraction of skin interstitial fluid, a new mathematical model of skin fluid extraction that can be used to optimise the device for a range of medical needs, and the first insight into how chemical signals change in babies upon the development of atopic eczema in their first months of life.