Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
biotechnological processes such as fermentation or on fields for agriculture they can
provide added value in terms of distribution of nutrients. Therefore, there is a lot of
work left for IT-engineers to develop software which allows for communication
between sensors and a base unit including expert systems to qualify data for
decision support.
2.5 Sensor-Actor Molecules: Molecular Integration
In contrast to technological integration which is highly developed in autonomous
biosensors also biochemical integration will contribute to finding new ways for
point-of-care testing. The first steps in this direction have been accomplished in the
context of the above-mentioned ''active arrays'' where enzymes act on samples to
derive analytical information. More artificial are newly developed molecules that
generate signals upon binding like the molecular beacons invented for nucleic acid
characterization [
26
]. The potential of multiplexing of the approach has led to a
variety of applications especially in the detection and characterization of infectious
diseases [
27
]. The concept of molecular beacons has been adapted to aptamers [
16
]
as well as to peptide-based systems [
24
]. Both of the latter, however, are less
universal than the original molecular beacon concept and much more detailed
work on the recognition site has to be performed to make aptamer- or peptide-
based molecular beacons work. More general approaches may be undertaken to
link binding to signaling on the molecular level. All these newly developed
molecules may be integrated in future easy-to-use analytical or diagnostic systems.
With this new method of biochemical integration the processes of recognition and
signal generation are fully integrated. Application areas are various; the concept of
''a-lab-in-a-tissue'' which named the project [
22
] makes the need for such a testing
possibility quite clear. Because of globalization and the growing world population
fast, qualitative tests for viruses such as influenza are desired for improved pan-
demic control and governance.
3 The Goal: Systems Integration
The possibilities given by different technologies for in vitro diagnostic testing at
the patients' bed-side show a high degree of integration. From a technological
point of view integration of the various features of a POCT device may be carried
out with regard to different scales or levels such as the molecular level, electronic
integration, optimization of production steps, and packaging. By integrating pro-
cess steps for detection a faster and more user-friendly diagnostic method will be
available in the near future. In addition, integration is again a key factor for their
implementation into clinical workflows. In this regard it is not sufficient to supply
technologies for a faster analysis. The supply chain has to be covered fully
