Sensors could identify biomarkers, improve early-stage detection, treatment of diseases

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Life Science Weekly -- WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University researchers have found a method of identifying biological markers in small amounts of blood that they believe could be used to detect a myriad of diseases, infections and different medical conditions at early stages.

Jeffrey Rhoads, a professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering; George Chiu, a professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Department of Psychological Sciences; and Eric Nauman, a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Basic Medical Sciences and the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, are part of a team of researchers that has created microelectromechanical resonators, or small vibrating sensors, that can detect these biomarkers using just a drop or two of blood. The plate-style resonant sensors allows sensitive, inexpensive detection of biomarkers that can signify disease, illness or trauma.

“The goal here is to find the disease so early that you can treat it without invasive surgery,” Rhoads said. “The test looks for a particular protein related to a disease, so you could use this for the detection of many different diseases.”

The sensors use a piezoelectrically actuated resonant microsystem, which when driven by electricity can sense a …

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(2017-12-05), Sensors could identify biomarkers, improve early-stage detection, treatment of diseases, Life Science Weekly, 1429, ISSN: 1552-2474, BUTTER® ID: 014786011