Motion and Force-Based Point of Care Technologies

Abstract

Micro/Nanosystems have dramatically changed how we interact with the world, from tracking fitness-related activity to improving transportation safety, yet these devices have failed to live up to their potential in biomedical and clinical settings, especially ones that measure force and motion. Our lab is especially interested in designing new micro and nano-based sensors capable of extracting information from biological systems with a focus on addressing clinically relevant problems. In this talk, I review our efforts in this endeavor, beginning with an approach to use standard smartphones to assess abdominal pain, which could help address a broader need for virtual physical exams. I will also talk about our work on platelet contraction cytometry and our lab’s progress towards using platelet force as a biophysical biomarker for bleeding that is independent of existing tests. Together, these technologies highlight new opportunities to apply force and motion based sensing towards novel point-of-care technologies.