Communications of the ACM
Low-Cost Plastic Sensors Could Monitor a Range of Health Conditions
Researchers have developed a low-cost sensor made from semiconducting plastic that can diagnose or monitor a wide range of health conditions.
Credit: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
An international team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia has developed a low-cost sensor made from semiconducting plastic that can diagnose or monitor a wide range of health conditions.
The sensor can measure the amount of critical metabolites, such as lactate or glucose, present in bodily fluids; when incorporated into a diagnostic device, the sensor allows health conditions to be monitored quickly, inexpensively, and accurately.
The new device has a simpler design than conventional sensors, and could open up a range of new applications for health monitoring at the cellular level.
The researchers built the sensor using a newly synthesized polymer that acts as a molecular wire. When the material comes into contact with a bodily fluid, it absorbs ions and becomes merged with the liquid, leading to significantly higher sensitivity compared to traditional sensors made of metal electrodes.
From University of Cambridge
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