Patients on long-term treatments can be monitored by a chip installed under their skin capable of monitoring in real time the effect of drugs on their metabolism. This will make it easier to adjust the doses for each person.
Developed by researchers from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, this biosensor chip is able to provide information on temperature, blood sugar (glucose) and cholesterol levels. A real medical revolution.
For personalized medicine
This micro device measures only 1 cm side. It is equipped with a circuit comprising 6 sensors, a computer which analyzes the signals received and a radio transmission module. It is implanted under the skin, is supplied with energy via a patch stuck under the skin and is able to communicate with a smartphone.
“We have put together in a simple bandage the battery, the coil and a Bluetooth module, thanks to which the results can be immediately sent to a mobile phone”, specifies Sandro Carrara, lecturer and researcher at EPFL in Lausanne.
“The world novelty that we are proposing with this chip is that it is capable, in addition to the pH and the temperature, of measuring both metabolic molecules, such as glucose, lactate or cholesterol. , and medicines ”, explains Sandro Carrara.
Laboratory tests on mice have been successful. The researchers therefore hope to be able to test their little gem of technology on humans. Clinical trials are planned within 3 to 5 years.
“Knowing precisely and in real time the effect of drugs on the metabolism is one of the keys to personalized and precision medicine that we hope for tomorrow”, explains Sandro Carrara.
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