Micro-nanostructured sensors integrated in a wearable platform to fight emerging infectious diseases

Abstract

We are developing a wearable sensing platform that provides rapid and quantitative measurements of a panel of inflammatory biomarkers. The sensor detects interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which are found to be associated with adverse clinical outcomes and death in critically ill SARS-CoV-2 patients. Although wearable technology has entered the fight against COVID-19, the devices are limited to monitoring physical attributes and rely on syndromic case finding. Hence, asymptomatic but contagious individuals with no early symptoms remain undetected and transmit the virus/bacteria. In this regard, our sensor would result in a powerful public health weapon that will monitor biochemical attributes in real-time and diagnose an infection before symptoms appear.