Medical laboratory in a home medicine cabinet
For many years, diseases of the cardiovascular system have occupied the first place among the causes of mortality worldwide. Mobile systems that monitor vital parameters at home, such as blood pressure and heart rate, could increase the safety and fullness of life of patients at risk. German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Angewandte Informationstechnik, FIT), in collaboration with colleagues from the Berlin Charite Clinic, T-Systems and several international partners, have developed and tested a platform that ensures the functioning of such a system.
The basis of such a system for home use is a compact device that includes sensors, analytical equipment and software. Sensors for remote use can be included with it, such as a pulse oximeter inserted into the patient's ear and communicating with the base via Bluetooth technology, and a blood pressure monitor that sends data to the system using the WLAN protocol.
In addition to non-invasive sensors, the new platform uses technology that allows taking a blood sample from a person. To do this, the patient needs to fill a special cartridge with capillary blood released after the injection of the finger pad. A voltage nanoregulator and a microchip with an electrochemical sensor built into the cartridge allow blood analysis for glucose, lactic acid and cholesterol, and a fluorescence sensor based on a laser diode with a high degree of accuracy detects even residual levels of a number of specific markers of the state of the cardiovascular system.
Microchip for electrochemical registration of biomarkers and fluorescence sensor.
The device collects all the data received by the sensors and sends them to the attending physician or to the medical center via a secure Internet connection. And the smartphone app allows the patient to view the collected data himself and receive feedback from the attending physician.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on FIT: A medical lab for the home.
06.11.2014