A new biosensor detecting a heart attack two hours before it happens will be on the market around the year 2020. Researchers from the Nanotechnology Laboratory of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki developed the ultrathin biosensor that prevents heart attacks, in collaboration with BLNanobiomed and Organ. This biosensor, placed in a watch-like wearable device, was recently presented at the 1st Conference on Organic and Printed Electronics in the Middle East and North Africa, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by BLNanobiomed’s CEO, a cardiologist, Varvara Karagiozaki, a specialist in nanomedicine.
The printable biosensors, which are disposable, will be on the market in two years after clinical studies. The studies will include people who have or have not had a heart attack. Karagiozaki told APE-MPA.
“Early and accurate diagnosis of the disease is very important and essential for patient survival. In recent years, the demand for disposable devices, simple and easy to use with a fast response time, increased significantly. With this in mind, we started designing and creating these biosensors two years ago. We’ve already created a prototype and are now ready to go with the production of these . It remains to do the clinical studies before their release on the market. The design and mass production of such biosensors and their ability to generate a huge amount of data for therapeutics offer real time decision making capabilities that can lead to value added products in the healthcare sector,” Karagiozaki notes.
How do biosensors work?
“Someone who is in a remote area, but even at home, as soon as they feel sick or in pain can place a drop of blood in the biosensor, which looks like the strips that measure blood sugar, and then insert it into the socket in the wearable device / watch. Then, through this device, the data is sent to the nearest hospital or ambulance that has the necessary equipment, i.e. a computer or ipad that has a program, with which the patient’s condition can be immediately assessed. This saves the patient time, which is literally vital,” explains Karagiozaki.
The instructions for her biosensor are basically “print it at the Aristotle University’s Nanotechnology Lab” and they think they can easily do this because they have a bioprinter there.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
