Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Novelty: A universal platform for continuous measurement of disease-related agents in body fluids and simultaneous, precise drug delivery can transform personalized medicine and healthcare. Real-time tracking of individual health biomarkers will provide physicians with critical insights, enhancing treatment efficacy for various medical conditions. Despite progress in biosensors for sensitive and rapid biomolecule detection over the past decade, the full potential of personalized medicine remains unaddressed due to limitations in existing sensors. These sensors typically offer single or end-point measurements rather than continuous monitoring, which is currently feasible for only a few targets like blood glucose, lactate, and oxygen. The CRC program in Health Monitoring BioNano Devices, led by Dr. Poudineh and her team at IDEATION Lab, aims to create technologies for universal health monitoring. The lab will utilize advancements in engineering and nanoscience to develop tools for continuous, automatic tracking of multiple disease agents. This effort addresses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, with potential clinical applications. Dr. Poudineh’s research focuses on creating polymeric wearable systems for minimally invasive monitoring and treatment in outpatient settings, and technologies for continuous, real-time biomarker tracking. Objectives: The CRC program will leverage the lab’s prior advancements to achieve two objectives (O): O1: Develop Closed-Loop Control Systems to Improve Patient Care. O2: Develop Continuous Monitoring Technologies for High-Resolution Universal Tracking. Research approach: O1: Dr. Poudineh will build upon her team’s research accomplishments and develop a miniaturized artificial pancreas device (MAPD) system. The MAPD system integrates the team’s wearable biosensors into closed-loop control systems, enabling not only detection of fluctuations in glucose levels but also ensuring the precise administration of insulin. O2: Dr. Poudineh and her team will create a microfluidic platform for continuous, multiplexed tracking of various biomarkers, including small molecules and proteins. This innovative system has broad biomedical applications, such as monitoring diabetes hormones and measuring ventilator-induced lung injury in an ex vivo lung perfusion system. The platform aims to provide real-time insights into the biomarker dynamics, offering valuable information for clinical research and patient care.