Researchers at Western New England University have developed a nanotech-powered breathalyzer prototype that can detect acetone levels in the breath, which is theorized to correlate to blood glucose levels. The technology, if commercialized, could do away with need for finger-prick–based testing of blood sugar.
The ability to detect acetone in the breath is derived from acetone-sensitive nanometer-thick polymeric films. Exposure to acetone causes the two polymers in the films to crosslink, changing its physicochemical nature.
The breathalyzer prototype is roughly the size of a book. The researchers are working on shrinking the technology to yield a breathalyzer with a similar size to those used by police to detect blood alcohol content levels.
The Western New England University researchers’ breathalyzer design is initially the size of a book. Scientists from theTechnische Universität Dresden (Germany) and FraunhoferElectron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP are actually working on a breath-analyzing spectrometer that is so tiny it can fit into a mobile phone.
Looking to the future, Narayan says, “We recently published a paper on the use of a combination of two-photon polymerization and micromolding to make small-scale barbs for tissue joining. We are working the several companies on the commercialization of 3D printing technologies and on small-scale medical device processing. In general, we hope that these efforts will lead to new technologies for processing of medical devices that offer better functionality and longer lifetimes than current devices.”
Folk spoke of the pitfalls of tunnel vision. “If you don't have a broad view, it's really tough to see what else is going on. Venture capitalists and people like that, they have a broad view but they are looking for investment opportunities, and not always at technology creators.”
One thing for medical device designers to think about, Folk says, “is the intersection of different technologies. I think one of the more interesting areas to look at, which I think is also one of the hardest ones, is to be looking at and anticipating intersections. You know, if I've got a technology I'm excited about, when I release in two or three years, how is that going to interact with the other things that are going on in the world at the same time?”
0 comments:
Post a Comment