Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Portable Sensor Quickly Diagnoses Eye Injuries

By R&D Editors | December 9, 2015

The new sensor can detect differences in vitamin C concentration in fluids that leak from the eye. Higher concentrations indicate a more severe injury, the researchers report. Image: L. Brian StaufferAn engineer and an ophthalmologist are working together to develop a portable sensor that can quickly and inexpensively determine whether an eye injury is mild or severe. The device, called OcuCheck, works by measuring levels of vitamin C in the fluids that coat or leak from the eye. The sensor could speed efforts to determine the extent of eye injuries at accident sites, in rural areas lacking ophthalmology specialists or on the battlefield, the researchers say.

“The sensor takes advantage of the fact that the ocular tear film — the viscous fluid that coats the eyeball — contains low levels of ascorbic acid, which is just vitamin C, while the interior of the eye contains much higher levels,” says University of Illinois bioengineering professor Dipanjan Pan, who is creating the device in collaboration with Carle ophthalmologist Dr. Leanne Labriola. “So the concept is, if there is severe damage to the eye that penetrates deeply, the ascorbic acid will leak out in high concentration.”

Two postdoctoral researchers in Pan’s laboratory, Manas Gartia and Santosh Misra, helped develop the new sensor. The researchers report their work in the journal Scientific Reports.

At present, those with eye injuries must find their way to a hospital to have their injuries assessed. The process is often complicated, time-consuming and imprecise, Pan says.

“The new device will change the standard of care for evaluating eye traumas,” Labriola says.

No current techniques for assessing eye injuries involve measurements of ascorbic acid, Pan says. “So this is a one-of-a-kind approach.”

The new sensor uses graphene platelets that are layered 1 nanometer thick on filter paper. Upper layers include a unique polymer that interacts with the graphene; gold electrodes; and ascorbate oxidase, an enzyme that binds to ascorbic acid.

“The idea is that the moment that the ascorbic acid comes in and binds to the ascorbate oxidase, it will pull the polymer out of its interaction with the graphene,” changing the sensor’s electrical properties, Pan says.

In tests with clinical samples from 16 patients undergoing eye surgery, the team found that their sensor could — with high sensitivity, accuracy and specificity — detect a range of ascorbic acid concentrations.

OcuCheck has not yet been tested on samples from trauma patients, Pan says.

“But we have mixed the samples with blood, and the sensor’s sensitivity to ascorbic acid is retained even in the presence of blood. The filter paper will filter out the blood,” he says.

“This technology has the ability to impact a large number of patients, particularly in rural settings, where access to an ophthalmologist can be limited,” Labriola says.

The team is working with an industrial design professor at Illinois to build a housing for the sensor that will be portable and easy to use, Pan says. Pan and Labriola have founded a new company, InnSight Technology, to help them bring the device to market. The company has obtained a phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation.

“This is a perfect example of physicians and engineers working together to find solutions to current problems in health care,” Pan says, referring to the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, a new engineering-based medical college soon to be established on Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus.

The University of Illinois and the Children’s Discovery Institute supported this research. Pan also is a faculty member in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I.

Release Date: December 9, 2015
Source: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE