A highly integrated optical sensor for point of ca.. (InTopSens)
A highly integrated optical sensor for point of care label free identification of pathogenic bacteria strains and their antibiotic resistance
(InTopSens)
Start date: Sep 1, 2008,
End date: Feb 29, 2012
PROJECT
FINISHED
InTopSens is a multidisciplinary project involving the emerging fields of photonics structures, electronics, fluidics and bio-chemistry, to contribute to the development of high value sensor technology. This objective will be addressed through the demonstration of a compact polymer and silicon-based CMOS-compatible photonics sensor system. It integrates two label-free biomolecular recognition photonic sensor technologies with sensitivities as low as 0.1ng per ml, state-of-the-art in label-free integrated optical biosensors, with novel coupling technology that will permit very high integration of hundreds of sensing areas on a 1mm2 photonics chip. This offers the further advantageous possibility of assaying several parameters simultaneously leading to further increases in the reliability and reductions in the measurement uncertainty of a diagnostic over single-parameter assays. The novel diagnostic technology of the InTopSens device has the potential to be fast and easy to use, making routine screening or monitoring of bacteria more cost-effective. The ultimate target of InTopSens is to demonstrate the feasibility of a rapid diagnostic test for sepsis at 'point of care'. From the introduction onto the chip of a large drop of blood (some 5ml) it will have after 5-10 mins a yes/no to the presence of bacteria and after less than 30mins an antibiotic resistance profile of the infecting bacteria. Some 120 sensing areas/datapoints are needed to identify this profile and as such due to the very high integration up to 250 assays can be integrated onto a 1mm2 chip for the same bacteria for higher sensitivity/selectivity or for other bacteria. A final prototype consisting of a packaged biochip will be used on clinical samples in order to detect the sepsis bacteria and determine their resistance to antibiotics.
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