I-Corps: Commercialization of electrochemical sensor technology for pathogen detection

I-Corps：用于病原体检测的电化学传感器技术的商业化

• 批准号: 1542812
• 负责人: Edgar Goluch
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Northeastern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-05-15 至 2016-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1542812&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Commercialization; electrochemical; sensor; technology

There are ongoing efforts to develop sensors to monitor for wound infections. The vast majority of smart-bandage research and development is focused on infection sensors based on general characteristics, such as pH, temperature, and gases. While simpler to implement, these general characteristics also fluctuate significantly and can change due to a large number of factors, resulting in unreliable identification. The current standard to monitor for wound infections relies on an initial human assessment, either patient or caregiver, of when an infection is developing. The decision is based on visual inspection, smell of the wound, and other patient symptoms, such as fever. When an infection is suspected, samples are collected from the wound and sent to a central facility for analysis. At the centralized facility, plate culturing is the gold standard for pathogen identification. The technique is simple, but requires 24 hours or more for identification.This proposal aims to create, test, and disseminate electrochemical sensor technology for quantitative microbiological studies. Specifically, this approach will utilize micro-fabricated electrochemical sensors to rapidly and selectively detect molecules produced by bacteria. The detected molecules are uniquely produced by only certain species of cells; therefore, by detecting the molecules it is possible to determine which cells and how many of them are present in a sample. The proposed technology will allow caregivers to remotely monitor their patients and provide them with better care. In a hospital post-op or burn ward, rapid identification is the primary customer need, as wounds are monitored routinely, but require time-consuming tests when an infection is suspected to identify the pathogen. In the home, patients must determine on their own if they have an infection developing or wait until a home healthcare worker visits them. The proposed product could reduce the visit frequency for home healthcare professionals if the wounds are monitored remotely, decreasing the workload for an already overburdened and understaffed system.

正在进行的努力来开发传感器来监测伤口感染。绝大多数智能研究和开发都集中在基于pH，温度和气体等一般特征的感染传感器上。尽管实施更简单，但这些一般特征也显着波动，并且由于大量因素而可能发生变化，从而导致不可靠的识别。监测伤口感染的当前标准依赖于感染发生的初步人类评估，无论是患者还是护理人员。该决定基于视觉检查，伤口的气味和其他患者症状，例如发烧。当怀疑感染时，从伤口收集样品并发送到中央设施进行分析。在集中设施，板培养是病原体鉴定的金标准。该技术很简单，但需要24小时或更长时间才能识别。该提案旨在创建，测试和传播电化学传感器技术来定量微生物学研究。具体而言，这种方法将利用微型电化学传感器快速，有选择地检测细菌产生的分子。检测到的分子仅由某些细胞独特产生。因此，通过检测分子可以确定样品中存在哪些细胞以及其中有多少个细胞。 拟议的技术将使护理人员能够远程监控患者并为他们提供更好的护理。在医院的手术后或烧伤病房中，快速识别是客户的主要需求，因为经常监测伤口，但是当怀疑感染以识别病原体时，需要进行耗时的测试。在家里，患者必须自行确定他们是否有感染或等待家庭医疗保健工人拜访他们。如果对伤口进行远程监控，则提议的产品可能会降低家庭医疗保健专业人员的访问频率，从而减少工作量过高且不足的系统的工作量。