The novelty of our idea lies in the SIMPLE technology that builds the core of our biosensor machinery. Simply put, it is an innovative chip-design that develops a pressure gradient across the length of our biosensor. This allows our sample fluid i.e. blood plasma, to interact with downstream chemicals in a controlled manner. We infuse this system with fluorescence-inducing chemicals that bind to the free valproate in blood. Notably, valproate is an anti-epileptic drug molecule so we would ideally like to have lots of it in a patient’s blood sample! However, in case of low absorption of the drug molecule in the body of epileptic patients, the low concentration of free valproate would allow more fluorescence chemicals to be detected under the photodetector of our sensor. The device will then internally calculate and display the concentration of valproate in the given blood sample. This computation and photo-detection is powered by a Raspberry Pi motherboard. Hence, we would effectively enable a patient to better understand the constituents of their blood in the comfort of their home.
Using technology as medicine
