Next-Generation Enabling Technologies Towards Precision and Personalized Medicine

该研究项目旨在开发一种通用的、实时的生物传感器，以实现对各种疾病相关生物标志物的连续监测，并促进正确药物剂量的同时传递。这种集成设备最终将实现真正的个性化医疗，通过持续监测个体患者的病情，允许医生根据个体独特的分子和/或基因特征定制特定的医疗治疗。实时监测面临着特殊的挑战：1)必须处理少量复杂的生物流体；2)灵敏度和特异性要求高；3)平台必须适用于各种分析物；4)必须进行多路测量；5)生物传感器必须作为床边监测的护理点平台实施。由于这些未解决的挑战，目前还没有传感器技术可以直接在全血中实时测量多种疾病生物标志物，并同时在正确的时间给予正确的药物剂量。该研究项目将开发一个新的平台来应对这些挑战，在这个平台上，新型微流体技术将与先进的光学成像技术相结合。该平台被称为“RT-Sensing&Delivery”，因为它由两个主要模块组成：传感和药物输送。我们将追求三个综合目标来实现我们的目标：“传感模块”的设计与实现；O2。创建一个自动化和强大的“给药模块”；O3。扩展平台的多路复用能力。这些短期目标对于实现我们的长期目标——通过一个通用的生物传感器平台，持续跟踪和检测多种疾病相关生物标志物的波动浓度水平，实现精确和个性化的药物剂量，推进个性化医疗领域的发展至关重要。因此，rt传感和传输设备将在医学上实现许多潜在的变革性应用，因为它引入了一种测量蛋白质、小分子和其他生物分子的通用工具，并且可以在传染病、神经科学、免疫学、癌症等生物医学研究中实施。它还有助于在加拿大维持高质量的医疗保健，在加拿大，医疗保健费用占国内生产总值的10%以上。该研究计划将有助于培养下一代生物医学工程领域的创新者和先驱，并为学生提供所需的技术和软技能（即微/纳米技术，器件制造，分子分析，信息处理，电路设计，光学成像，解决问题的理性思维，管理和领导个人项目以及合作），以在工业，学术研究，和创业

This research program aims to develop a generalizable, real-time biosensor to enable continuous monitoring of a diverse range of disease-related biomarkers, and to facilitate simultaneous delivery of the right drug dosage. This integrated device will eventually enable truly personalized medicine through continuous monitoring of individual patient conditions, allowing physicians to tailor specific medical treatments to an individual's unique molecular and/or genetic profile. Real-time monitoring faces exceptional challenges: 1) A tiny volume of complex biofluids must be handled; 2) High sensitivity and specificity are required; 3) The platform must be generalizable to various analytes; 4) Multiplexed measurements must be performed; and 5) The biosensor must be implemented as a point-of-care platform for bedside monitoring. Due to these unmet challenges, currently, there is no sensor technology that can measure multiple disease biomarkers directly in whole blood and in real-time and simultaneously administer the right drug dosage at the right time. This research program will develop a new platform that meets these challenges, where novel microfluidic techniques will be combined with advanced optical imaging. The platform is called "RT-Sensing&Delivery" as it consists of two main modules: sensing and drug delivery. We will pursue three integrated objectives to achieve our goals: O1. Design and implementation of the "sensing module"; O2. Creating an automated and robust "drug delivery module"; O3. Expanding the multiplexed capability of the platform. These short-term goals will be important to the attainment of our long-term goal of advancing the field of personalized medicine through a universal biosensor platform which continuously tracks and detects multiple disease-related biomarkers' fluctuating concentration levels and achieves precise and personalized drug dosing. The RT-Sensing&Delivery device will consequently enable many potentially transformative applications in medicine as it introduces a general tool for measuring proteins, small molecules and other biomolecules and can be implemented in the biomedical research such as infectious diseases, neuroscience, immunology, cancer, and others. It also helps to maintain high quality healthcare in Canada, where healthcare costs contribute to more than 10% of the gross domestic product. This research program will contribute to the training of next generation of innovators and pioneers in the field of biomedical engineering and provide students with the required technical and soft skillsets (i.e., micro/nanotechnology techniques, device fabrication, molecular analysis, information processing, circuit design, optical imaging, rational thinking to solve problems, managing and leading individual projects, and collaboration) to take roles in industry, academic research, and entrepreneurship