A team of engineers from the University of California, San Diego has developed an electronic probe (A skin patch that is worn detects hemoglobin in deep tissue) that can analyze biomolecules in deep tissues, including hemoglobin. This gives medical professionals unprecedented access to vital information that can help diagnose life-threatening conditions such as acute, organ dysfunction, stroke or bleeding, and more. .
“The amount and location of hemoglobin in the body provides very important information about bleeding or accumulation in a specific area. Our device shows great potential in close monitoring of high-risk groups, and -makes the intervention faster in a faster time,” said Sheng Xu, professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego and author of the corresponding study.
The article, “A photoacoustic patch for three-dimensional imaging of hemoglobin and core temperature,” appears in the December 15, 2022 issue of Nature Communications.
Low blood pressure in the body can cause organ failure and is associated with a variety of diseases including heart attack and peripheral vascular disease. At the same time, abnormal blood collection in areas such as the brain, stomach, or cysts can indicate bleeding or visceral or malignant tumors. Continuous monitoring can aid in the diagnosis of these conditions and help to enable timely and potentially life-saving interventions.
The new sensor overcomes some critical limitations of existing methods for monitoring biomolecules. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography rely on large-scale equipment that can be difficult to obtain and often provide information about the location of the molecule directly, making them unsuitable for long-term monitoring. time of biomolecules.
“Continuous monitoring is important for early intervention to prevent life-threatening situations quickly,” said Xiangjun Chen, a doctoral student in nanoengineering from the Xu Group and a co-author of the paper. which the study said. “Hand-held devices based on electrochemistry for detecting biomolecules, not just hemoglobin, are good candidates for long-term monitoring applications. However, current technologies are only able to detect the surface of the skin.
The new, flexible material, small type of material that makes it fit well with the skin, allows long-term monitoring without harm. It can map three-dimensional hemoglobin with sub-millimeter spatial resolution in deep tissue, down to centimeters below the skin, compared to other wearable electrochemical devices that only detect biomolecules on the surface of the skin. It can achieve high contrast with other fabrics. Due to its optical selectivity, it can expand the range of detected molecules, combine different laser diodes with different wavelengths, and have potential clinical applications.
The mask is equipped with several laser diodes and piezoelectric transducers in its flexible silicone polymer matrix. Laser diodes deliver pulsed lasers into the body. Cells absorb optical energy and transmit shock waves into the surrounding media.
“Piezoelectric transducers receive sound waves, which are processed in an electrical system to reconstruct a spatial map of the biomolecules that generate the waves,” said Xiaoxiang Gao, a postdoctoral researcher in Xu’s lab and a co-author of the paper which the study said.
Hongjie Hu, a postdoctoral researcher in Xu’s group and the author of the study said, “With its low laser power, it is safer than the X-ray system that contains ionizing radiation.
Based on its success so far, the team plans to further develop the device, including reducing the main control system and measurement device for diode laser control and data acquisition, expanding its flexibility and clinical capabilities 0.
They also plan to explore the potential of wearables for temperature monitoring. “Because the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal is proportional to the temperature, we demonstrated the sensitivity of the temperature in ex vivo experiments,” Xu said. “However, supporting core temperature monitoring in the human body requires interventional planning.”
They continue to work with physicians to explore potential therapeutic applications.
