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Implantable biosensor chip can monitor glucose and drugs in real-time

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Implantable biosensor chip can monitor glucose and drugs in real-time
May 28, 2015


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A team from the EPFL integrated Systems Laboratory have unveiled a new implantable sensor that is about a centimeter long that is designed to be implanted under a person's skin and gets power from a patch on the surface of the skin. The sensor is able to communicate with a mobile phone and is designed to measure the concentration of certain molecules in the body at the same time.

Some of the molecules that the sensor can monitor simultaneously are glucose, cholesterol, and certain drug concentrations. The idea is that the sensor will be able to provide users and medical professionals constant analysis of blood work and other things rather than relying on blood drawn that represents a single snapshot of how well a patient is doing.

The team says that this is the first chip that is capable of measuring not just pH and temperature, but metabolism related molecules such as glucose, lactate, and cholesterol as well as drugs. There are three main components inside the one-centimeter square device.

Those three components include a circuit with six sensors, a control unit that analyzes incoming signals, and a radio transmission module allowing Bluetooth connectivity with a smartphone. An induction coil inside the chip draws power from an external battery that is attached to the skin via a patch. The chip has been tested successfully on mice giving researchers the ability to constantly monitor glucose and paracetamol levels. The team says that clinical trials on humans could take place in three to five years.

http://www.slashgear.com/implantabl...itor-glucose-and-drugs-in-real-time-28385561/

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This is very good news. Hopefully this will work well and then it will be combined with real time insulin release to form a real strong treatment for diabetes,
 
kind of makes me wonder how biocompatible it is... traditionally the body likes to reject bits of plastic/foreign bodies that get stuck in it?
 
kind of makes me wonder how biocompatible it is... traditionally the body likes to reject bits of plastic/foreign bodies that get stuck in it?

Yes, well there's always pacemakers and such. But bodily rejection is always a risk. DNA cloned "wet-ware" systems would be the future of such devices, I tend to believe.
 
Spooky stuff. If it can monitor drug concentrations, I could see similar designs quickly becoming the future of court-ordered drug-testing programs.

Not super sure how I feel about that.
 
Looks terribly like the technology that has just fucked up my diabetic type 1 mates eyesight for life by providing false readings.
 
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