Abstract

Towards Wearable Microfluidic Devices For Well-Being and Personalized Healthcare

Martyn Boutelle, Professor of Biomedical Sensors Engineering, Imperial College London

Advances in microfluidic technologies, electronics and sensors, combined with the phenomenal growth in mobile computing power provided by current tablets and mobiles allow us to imaging finally taking the ‘lab-on-a-chip’ away from its laboratory full of control equipment. Through miniaturization and carefully engineered smart designs we can embed computer control and analytical best practice into portable even wearable devices that are able to compensate for shortcomings such as falling performance. These hybrid microfluidic systems appear to their target users as simple stable systems that tell them what they want to know. My group specializes in designing and building such microfluidic systems to meet the needs of acute critical care medicine. Key molecular markers are measured using both optical and electrochemical sensors and biosensors. We then work with clinical care teams to show proof of concept of the real-time continuous chemical information that microfluidic systems can produce. Our ultimate goal is that such systems can be used to monitor patients and guide therapy in a patient-specific, personalized way.