In the field of extracorporeal circulation and assisted respiration, the possibility of adding sensors to the polymeric disposables currently on the market would allow to monitor constantly the patient's condition and, therefore, to personalize their treatments. Tecnopolo di Mirandola (TPM) developed technologies able to transform the polymeric substrate into a sensor capable of measuring in line and in real time the concentration of important analytes such as pH and pCO2 in both liquid and gaseous matrices. This allow to obtain a better knowledge health status of the patient and therefore to personalize the therapy (increasing its effectiveness and efficiency). In addition, this technology could also be added in the equipment used at home by the patient allowing its remote monitoring.
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The equipment currently used in extracorporeal circulation and assisted respiration doesn’t provide any measurement of analytes such as pH, pCO2, etc., even if there are different measurement techniques able to estimate the presence and concentration of these analytes with extreme precision. However, these techniques are not compatible with the in-line measurements since the reagents used for this kind of measurement are generally non biocompatible.
The technologies developed in this project can be used in all the in-line measurement since they avoid the alteration of the sample. In the biomedical field, these technologies have already been tested in treatments of haemodialysis, assisted breathing and extracorporeal circulation. Another important field of application could be the homecare treatments since they would allow remote monitoring of the patient’s state of health. Other areas of potential application are food-packaging and agri-food, for in-line product quality control.
Development of very precise systems able to measure the analyte of interest.
Development of four different sensors: - pH; - exhaled and in blood pCO2; - blood lactates, - Onset of inflammatory states.
TPM developed technologies able to transform disposables into cheap sensors for the in-line and real-time measurement of specific analytes’ concentration. This technology is based on a disposable part (functionalized tube) and on an optoelectronic reading system. The disposable part contains fluorophores developed ad-hoc for the detection of the analyte of interest immobilized on the tube that transform it into a sensor. The sensor is optically read thanks to the optoelectronic systems designed ad-hoc. These technologies have been used for the development of systems able to measure: 1) blood pH, 2) blood pCO2 and 3) exhaled pCO2. These measurement systems have been validated in a significant environment (TRL5). The advantages offered are: 1. On-line and real-time measurement of specific analytes that to date can only be estimated through samples; 2. Personalization of the treatment based on the measured values in order to improve the effectiveness of the treatment; 3. Possible creation of additional sensors for monitoring other molecules of interest; 4. Possibility of remote control of the treatment to be used in Homecare.
MIST E-R Rizzoli RIT FONDAZIONE DEMOCENTER-SIPE
Patent application for the development technologies
Examples of measurement systems