The team develops wearable sensors to help people with inflammatory bowel disease

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have designed a wearable device that monitors sweat for biomarkers that may indicate a recurrence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

A team of bioengineers showed something like a wristwatch Terminal In a proof-of-concept study, funded by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and published online July 28, and in print in the Foundation Journal in October, Inflammatory bowel disease..

Sensors in the device detect and quantify the presence of two major biomarkers associated with inflammatory bowel disease: Interleukin-1β and C-reactive protein (CRP). In this study, CRP Human sweat First, we showed that two biomarkers can be detected in sweat.

Dr. Shalini Prasad, Dean and Professor of Biotechnology and Principal Investigator in the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Erik Jonsson, said the technology warns, but does not diagnose inflammatory bowel disease. The ultimate goal of the job is to develop a device that gives the patient more control over IBD. This is unpredictable.

“It’s like a car check engine light,” said Professor Prasad, Cecil H., and Aida Green of Systems Biomedical Sciences. “The warning signal does not mean that the patient is flaring up, but it may give the patient an opportunity to intervene early if the symptoms may be more sensitive to treatment. Yes, this device is also working to help doctors understand the presence or absence of treatment faster. “

Researchers have established biomarker levels in people without IBD by monitoring the levels of two biomarkers in 20 healthy volunteers, demonstrating that biomarkers can be tracked.

Researchers used so-called passive sweat. This means that the wearer does not have to engage in physical activity or develop sweat glands to produce a sample. Sweat is collected on a removable strip built into the wrist device and needs to be replaced daily. It’s important for the device to collect passive sweat, as people with IBD may not be able to exercise at the levels needed to produce active sweat, according to Prasad.

The prototype will be tested by patient volunteers in the second phase of the study, will also be funded by the Foundation, and will need to be further tested before it becomes available to patients.

This device has the potential to track other diseases and conditions characterized by an inflammatory response. Prasad’s team is investigating whether people can be warned of an increase in cytokines, a protein released by the immune system in the early stages of viral infections such as COVID-19.

Prasad’s team has previously developed a biosensor for analysis Sweat Detect levels of certain chemicals, such as glucose and cortisol, that may indicate diabetes. In 2014, he co-founded a company called EnLiSense in Allen, Texas to develop lifestyle-based sensors and devices. Based on a successful study of Prasad’s glucose tracker, the Clone’s & Coritis Foundation has applied the concept to work with her to develop a non-invasive monitor for IBD, Geraldho, Deputy Director of Research Innovation at the Foundation. Dr. Nig said.

“We have seen extraordinary revolutions in many areas, including bioengineering and related dramatic events. Medical equipment, And we haven’t necessarily seen those ideas apply to IBD. “

Affected by millions of people in the United States, IBD has a chronic or repetitive immune response in which cells in the intestines are attacked when the body mistakes food, bacteria, and other substances for foreign substances and causes inflammation. It will be a feature. Symptoms include fatigue and abdominal pain, diarrhea in patients with Crohn’s disease, and urgency of stool in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Doctors are currently measuring intestinal inflammation by endoscopy. In endoscopy, a long, thin tube is inserted into the body to observe internal organs and tissues. This procedure is too invasive to monitor the disease frequently, creating challenges when recruiting patients for clinical trials, Honig said.

“Wearable microsensor devices have the potential to empower patients to actively monitor and manage their illness,” Honig said. “It can be potentially used to greatly facilitate clinical research and promote proactive management in the long run, and there is a target biomarker level that is being achieved over a period of time, with care to reach it. Optimize. ”