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A Personal Blood-testing Laboratory

under Your Skin

Written by Alexia Severson | Published on 20 March 2013

European scientists have developed an implant that can monitor a patient's blood

levels of glucose, lactate, and more for six weeks at a time.

Frequent trips to the doctor for blood tests can be annoying and time-consuming. But

the growing trend toward personalized, at-home healthcare might make it possible to

perform these tests outside the doctors office.

In a new study presented at Europes largest electronics conference, DATE 13,

scientists demonstrate that a tiny, portable, and personal blood-testing laboratory

implanted just beneath the skin can analyze the concentration of certain substances

in the blood and then transmit the results directly to a doctors computer or

smartphone.

According to the study press release, this method allows for a much more

personalized level of care than traditional blood tests, and also helps health care

providers keep a close eye on patients with chronic illness and those undergoing

chemotherapy. While the prototype is still in the experimental stages, scientists

have successfully demonstrated the devices ability to detect up to five proteins and

organic acids in the blood simultaneously.

This device enables telemedicine as well as personalized medicine, which are two

of the major trends in healthcare, said lead researcher Giovanni De Micheli of the

EPFL in an interview with Healthline. Doctors and hospitals will have a continuous

updates on a computer screen of the status. Any alarming record will trigger a

corrective action. Some routine visits will be eliminated.

Inside the Laboratory

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The cylindrical implant measures about 14 millimeters long and contains

five sensors, a coil for wireless power, and miniaturized electronics for radio

communication. A battery patch outside the body continuously provides a tenth of a

watt of power through the patient's skin.

A patient will go to a healthcare provider where the chip will be inserted with a

syringe. This is a [common] practice, De Micheli said. The patient will put a smart

patch over the skin and a telephone in their pocket. The patch will automatically

receive data from the implant and transmit it to the telephone.

In other words, the patch collects and sends data to the doctor over an existing

cellular network. Testing can be done continuously, without the need to visit a clinic,

De Micheli said.

There is no need to remember to do a test, he said. The test is done on a

scheduled time and transmitted to the M.D.

According to De Micheli, one of the challenges his team faced was to develop

sensors that would last long enough to effectively capture targeted substances in

the body, such as lactate, glucose, or ATP. To do this, each sensors surface was

covered with an enzyme, a complex protein that causes a specific chemical change

in all parts of the body, according to MedlinePlus.

"Potentially, we could detect just about anything," De Micheli said in a press

release. "But the enzymes have a limited lifespan, and we have to design them to

last as long as possible." As of now, the enzymes last for about a month and a half,

which is an adequate amount of time for many blood monitoring tests.

The Future of Personalized Medicine

An implant that functions as a personal blood-testing lab could provide customized

healthcare based on an individuals specific needs.

Currently, oncologists use occasional blood tests to determine how well cancer

patients are responding to particular chemotherapy treatments. However, this

method makes it difficult to determine the optimal dose for a particular patient. A

personal blood-testing implant would allow direct and continuous monitoring based

on a patient's individual tolerance, and not on age and weight charts or weekly blood

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tests, said De Micheli.

Researchers hope their ingenious device will be commercially available within four

years.

As these devices get smaller, mass-produced, and cheaper, we will see the use

for many different pathologies, De Micheli said. They will also be used to monitor

healthy elderly [patients] living alone and in remote places. Sportspeople will use

them to monitor fitness and to control nutrition to be in the best shape.

Learn More:

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Dystextia: A handy new tool detects signs of stroke

The Hand-held Diagnostic Revolution Reaches HIV Clinics

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