The 21st Century Doctor - A Biosensor that Detects Illness

Researchers at the University of Michigan are using state of the art nanotechnology to help them in their quest to develop a biosensor that can detect illness. The team are using minute spheres of synthetic polymers to create nanosensors that are just five billionths of a meter in diameter. The plan is to deliver billions of the tiny spheres into the bloodstream through a skin patch. Once in the blood, the nanosensors embed themselves into the white blood cells. If the sensors detect any changes in the protein composition of the blood cells - sign of illness or other problems such as exposure to radiation - they glow. The main problem at the moment is how doctors will detect this glow, however the researchers are hoping to develop a device that scans the retina for signs of fluorescence. Although the biosensor is currently in the early stages of development, the researchers have been given a $2-milion grant from NASA, who are hoping that the device could be used to monitor astronauts for signs of radiation sickness.

SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.ABCNews.com on the 12th July 2002