The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 2 (Apr 2014) | Page 26

The Next Generation of Bio-engineered Health Sensor

Bio-Telemetry and the Next
Generation of Bio-Engineered
Health Sensor
Telemetry has long been used in industry for a wide range of uses, from measuring the performance of machinery,
to transmitting data from the engines
of race cars, but until now the possibility of having sensors, embedded and
transmitting data from inside a patient’s
body has been the stuff of science fiction.
That is until now.
In recent months a number of
announcements from the growing field
of bio-sensing research, have opened
up the possibility of having biologically embedded sensors placed directly
inside the human body, streaming data
to the patient, and their doctors on factors such as organ condition, vital signs,
chemical balances, and tissue damage.
As well as transmitting data to other
devices, and applications allowing them
to conduct real-time analysis of bodily
and biological function.
The prospect for these types of sensors is intriguing. In the relatively near
future we could potentially see microscopic cameras, chemical sensors, vital
sign monitors all incorporated into
human tissue and embedded in vital
organs, or key parts of the body. Skin
tissue could be grafted with electrical
sensors to monitor UV levels, or exposure to particular pathogens; tiny cameras could be embedded in intestinal
tissue to monitor for digestive complications; or, sensors could be grafted to
bone as a means of monitoring wear in
arthritic patients.
Whilst many of these possibilities are
still merely concepts, and likely decades
away, we are beginning to see

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April 2014

advancements in this field that can give
us an insight into what may be possible
in the future.
One of the most talked about digital
health stories of recent months has
been the announcement from Google
(http://issuu.com/journalofmhealth/docs/
the_journal_of_mhealth_volume_1_iss) that
they had been involved in the creation
of a bio-enhanced ‘smart’ contact lens
that has the potential to continually
monitor a patients insulin levels. Data
is streamed directly from the lens to
a user’s Smartphone allowing instant
monitoring and real-time analysis, by
patients and their care providers.
Our article in this issue on the work
of Second Sight, equally demonstrates
how the implantation of augmented
camera sensing technology within the
eye, to provide a ‘Retinal Prosthesis
System’ designed to bypass damaged
photoreceptors, is delivering the possibility of recovered sight to patients suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).
Researchers at the School of Engineering & Applied Science of Washington
University in St. Louis and an international team of biomedical engineers
and materials scientists have created a
3-D elastic membrane made of a soft,
flexible, silicon material that is precisely
shaped to match the heart’s epicardium, or the outer layer of the wall of
the heart. This custom-fitted, implantable device has sensors that could
transform treatment and prediction of
cardiac disorders.
The unique elements of this type of
device have become a reality as a result
of research and development to min-

iaturise the necessary sensory, power
source and data transmission components. 3D medical printing and the augmentation of synthetic bio-elements
are providing the theoretical potential
to develop organ grafts; augments;
implantable tissues; and, bone grafts all
of which could be enhanced with sensors and applied to a range of different
parts of the body.
In addition to the miniaturisation of
the technology and the advancement
of synthetic tissue structures, the ability
to transmit data from within the body
provides very interesting possibilities
for future developments. Smartphones
and low energy Bluetooth connections
mean that the data only has to be transmitted over a short distance and can
be monitored full-time without being
a significant drain on a devices battery.
This opens the door to real-time biotelemetry transmission and analysis.
The rise in recent years in the availability, range, and sophistication of wearable health monitor