2024-08-29 カリフォルニア工科大学(Caltech)
This cross-section of the smart mask shows the different layers that make it work, including a hydrogel for cooling the breath into a liquid, microchannels or capillaries for transporting the liquid, and a sensing reservoir where the samples are analyzed.Credit: Caltech/Wei Gao and Wenzheng Heng
<関連情報>
- https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/smart-mask-monitors-breath-for-signs-of-health
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn6471
呼気凝縮液の採取と分析のためのスマートマスク A smart mask for exhaled breath condensate harvesting and analysis
Wenzheng Heng, Shukun Yin, Jihong Min, Canran Wang, […], and Wei Gao
Science Published:29 Aug 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adn6471
Editor’s summary
A challenge in some health care settings is the prompt acquisition of the appropriate data to be able to diagnose a changing medical situation and enable timely intervention. One common example is the assessment of blood glucose levels in people with diabetes and subsequent administration of insulin, which in recent years has moved from periodic snapshots to continuous monitoring. Heng et al. developed a smart face mask integrated with a self-cooling strategy, automated microfluidics, and biosensors for wearable exhaled breath condensate sampling and analysis of metabolites. The authors show the potential value of this mask for the acquisition of data for healthy participants and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and post–COVID-19 infection in pilot human trials. —Marc S. Lavine
Abstract
Recent respiratory outbreaks have garnered substantial attention, yet most respiratory monitoring remains confined to physical signals. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) harbors rich molecular information that could unveil diverse insights into an individual’s health. Unfortunately, challenges related to sample collection and the lack of on-site analytical tools impede the widespread adoption of EBC analysis. Here, we introduce EBCare, a mask-based device for real-time in situ monitoring of EBC biomarkers. Using a tandem cooling strategy, automated microfluidics, highly selective electrochemical biosensors, and a wireless reading circuit, EBCare enables continuous multimodal monitoring of EBC analytes across real-life indoor and outdoor activities. We validated EBCare’s usability in assessing metabolic conditions and respiratory airway inflammation in healthy participants, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, and patients after COVID-19 infection.
