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Researchers have developed a new robotic sensor technology that can diagnose women's reproductive health problems in real time
The technology, developed by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Hong Kong, can be used to measure hormones affecting fertility and badual development. and menstruation faster and at a lower cost than current methods.
The work, published in Nature Communications, was held at the Chemistry Department of Imperial College London and at the School of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Hong Kong. It has been tested on patients at Hammersmith Hospital, belonging to the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
A third of women in England suffer from serious reproductive health problems, such as infertility and early menopause. Doctors usually diagnose these conditions by performing a blood test to measure the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the sample. Current blood tests can not easily measure the increase and decrease in LH levels, which is vital for normal fertility – the so-called LH pulse model, linked to reproductive disorders . It is currently not possible to measure LH pulse profiles in a clinical setting because physicians must take a blood sample from patients every 10 minutes for at least eight hours. In addition, the badysis of these samples takes time because the blood has to be sent to a laboratory and the tests are expensive.
The researchers behind the trial used a new biosensor linked to a robotic system, which they call the robotized electrochemical reader APTamer (RAPTER). It has the potential to transform the clinical care of patients with reproductive disorders by monitoring the hormonal profiles of patients in real time. In the study, the prototype of the RAPTER device was used to measure LH in the blood of patients taken every ten minutes to obtain an immediate result.
The team believes that this could pave the way for a more personalized medicine. They hope that the technology can be developed to give clinicians a more accurate picture of the pulsatility of LH and suggest more effective treatments based on the needs of each individual.
Professor Waljit Dhillo, one of the lead authors and professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the IHRH of Imperial College London, said:
"Reproductive health issues are common among women in the UK and around the world. The diagnosis of some of these conditions can be long, leading to delays in treatment. Reproductive health problems can also affect the physical and mental well-being of women. There is a clear need for new and better ways to diagnose these conditions more quickly. Our technology will be able to provide clinicians with a faster and more accurate diagnosis of hormonal pulsatility that affects reproductive health, which could lead to better, more targeted treatments for women. "
As part of the study, which took place between 2015 and 2019, the researchers used the RAPTER to measure LH I pulse profiles from 441 blood samples of women who had a normal reproductive function, were menopausal or had hypothalamic amenorrhea, an illness that ends menstruation. . The large-scale device then gave an immediate reading.
In collaboration with researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, the team then used a mathematical method called Bayesian Spectrum Analysis (BSA) to give an overall score of LH pulse levels. The results were compared with current tests to measure LH levels.
The RAPTER platform detected changes in the type of LH pulse in patients with reproductive disorders. He was also able to distinguish for the first time different cohorts of patients with this new technology. For example, postmenopausal women have elevated LH levels compared to healthy, fertile women with normal LH levels, or women with hypothalamic amenorrhea who have low LH levels. Unlike current methods, the test is inexpensive and can deliver results instantly.
The team will now refine the technology to create a smaller sensor, similar to a blood glucose monitoring device, that can be used to continuously track changes in LH level of patients in the clinic or at a distance, and could be available in the next three to five years.
Professor Tony Cbad, lead author of the study of the chemistry department of Imperial College London, said:
"We have developed a technology that can measure the pulsatility of LH in patients more quickly and cheaply than current methods. We will now work to make the technology more accessible to the clinic by reducing the size of the device, which could revolutionize the clinical care of patients with reproductive disorders or others. "
Dr. Julian Tanner, senior author of the study at the LKS Medical School of the University of Hong Kong, added that the technology could also be developed to monitor other hormones such as cortisol . He added: "The detection methodology that we developed for the detection of LH is broadly applicable for real-time monitoring of all kinds of biomolecules related to health and well-being. Interestingly, with new research, this technology could be adapted for implanted sensors that could transform health surveillance in a variety of settings.
The research was funded by the Imperial Biomedical Research Center, the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund, an Imperial-Hong Kong PhD Scholarship, and an NIHR Research Chair.
This research is an example of the work done by the University College of Health Sciences at Imperial College, a joint initiative of Imperial College London and three hospital trusts of the NHS. It aims to transform health care by transforming scientific discoveries into medical advances for the benefit of local, national and global populations in the shortest possible time.
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