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Biosensors & bioelectronics update
Biosensors & Bioelectronics VoL 10 No. 1/2 (1995)
Bio
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nsors & Bioelectronics Update
Biosensors for heart disease, nerve and brain function, and respiratory monitoring are being developed currently, but the dairy industry may represent a significant future market.
Biosensor for myocardial infarction diagnostics: the Eurocardiproject
Job performance monitored by brain electrical activity!
Five European centres will collaborate in the development and clinical testing of a biosensor for the assay in blood plasma of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), a new diagnostic marker of acute myocardial infarction in humans. Studies at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht have revealed that the plasma concentration of FABP is a useful parameter especially for the early assessment or exclusion of myocardial infarction, that is within 2-3 hours after the first onset of infarct-related symptoms (Br Heart J 71: 135-140~ 1994). The routine application of FABP as an early plasma marker requires a rapid assay system, which will be developed as an FABP-immunosensor by the Institute fiir Chemo und Biosensorik in Miinster in collaboration with the Biosensors Research Group at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Clinical evaluation of the FABP-immunosensor will then be performed in a multicentre study, including hospitals in Odense, /krhus, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Maastricht. The project has received funding under the European Community BIOMED 1 programme and will run as a European Concerted Action on the Rapid Diagnosis of Infarction (acronym EUROCARDI). Funding of 300 000 E C U has b e e n g r a n t e d for three years (1994-1996). Contact: J.F.C. Glatz Ph.D., Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Netherlands. Fax: [31] 43 871028.
Work at the University of Illinois's, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology suggests that a computer analysis of a person's job performance - - such as how busy someone is or whether a worker is fatigued can be done instantaneously in real time. Researchers have focused on transferring voltage oscillations, detectable on the scalp, that reflect brain responses to environmental events. These are known as event-related brain potentials. The researchers measured electrical activity as subjects performed a primary task of monitoring six constantly changing gauges and a secondary job, done as time allowed, completing arithmetic problems. They were able to predict, using the scalp-recorded potentials, how well or how poorly each person was doing. The strength of the electrical activity associated with the primary task rose when the job became more difficult, while levels linked to the secondary task declined as less mental time was devoted to it. Arthur F. Kramer, a psychologist and expert in human-computer interaction, claims this is promising technology as we now have computer hardware that allows quick recordings from a large number of electrodes and which will do the analysis. For further information contact: Jim Barlow, Science Editor, News Bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1201 West Nevada Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. Tel: [1] (217) 333 5802.
0956-5663/95/$7.00 © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd.
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i Nerve signal sensor Researchers in Canada, the USA and Denmark are working on an aid to help people suffering from physical injuries which have caused nerve damage and subsequent paralysis. A project to develop a neural prothesis device has been going on for several years with support from Denmark's Research Fund, the Research Council and private sources. The neural prothesis works by nerve signals, from the skin's natural sensory cells, being used to control the paralyzed muscles in the injured limb. The nerve signals are detected using a so-called nerve-cuff-electrode which is surgically inserted under the skin. The recorded natural sense activity in conjunction with stimulation of the muscle should make it possible for the false limb to perform a functional muscle movement, which the injured person has lost the ability to do. It is hoped that this type of prothesis may be used in other areas of medicine such as controlling bladder and respiratory muscles, and treating spasticity and bedsores• Although the results of this work are very promising much more work needs to be done before the device comes on the market as a commercial product. For further information contact: Thomas Sinkjcer, Aalborg University, Center for Sensory-Motor Interactions (SMI), Fredrik Bajersvej 7D, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark. Tel: [45] 98158522. Fax: [45] 98154008. F r o m New S c a n d i n a v i a n Technology, Volume 6, Number 3, 1994
New acoustic sensor for detecting breathing flow Respiratory rate is an important parameter to be monitored in acute care. Respiratory rate is normally measured by visual observation of breathing motions; however this is labour intensive and is not completely foolproof as it tends to be subjective. Breathing motions may be seen, but a blocked airway means that there is little or no passage of air. A new acoustic sensor for detecting breathing
vi
Biosensors & Bioelectronics VoL 10 No. 1/2 (1995)
flow has been made. The project was started as a pilot study by a research team in Uppsala, Sweden, and is now being carried on by the company H6k Instrument AB in ViisterAs. The sensor, which was patented in 1990, consists of thin plastic hoses forming a "halter" which picks up an acoustic flow-signal. This is transferred to a differentially amplified pair of microphones. The sensor has been clinically tested at centres in Uppsala, V'~isterAs and Orebro with good results. For further information contact: Bertil H6k, H6k Instrument AB, Flottiljgatan 55, S-721 31 Viisterdts, Sweden. Tel: [46] 21 80 O0 99. Fax: [46] 21 80 10 09. F r o m New S c a n d i n a v i a n Technology, Volume 6, Number 3, 1994
Strategic alliance for worldwide anaesthesia market Hewlett-Packard Company's Medical Products Group (Andover, Massachusetts) and Ohmeda (Liberty Comer, New Jersey), a division of The BOC Group (Windlesham, UK), have created an alliance to cooperate in meeting changing customer needs in the anaesthesia care market. The alliance will develop, sell and service integrated anaesthesia delivery systems, patient monitoring equipment and other products widely used in operating rooms around the world. The companies will introduce the Component Anaesthesia Systems (CAS), an ensemble of HP and Ohmeda products incorporating gas flow management, vaporisation, ventilation, physiological and gas monitoring in a single compact unit. Over the past 20 years, hospitals have adopted increasingly specific anaesthesia technology. Today, surgical and anaesthesia caseloads are increasing, while the amount of time to perform procedures is decreasing. The result is a high-pressure environment laden with equipment. Busy clinicians must contend with a proliferation of devices, cables, alarms and information systems. For further information contact: Bob Pirie, Communications Manager, The BOC Group, 10
Biosensors & Bioelectronics VoL 10 No. 1/2 (1995)
The Priestley Centre, The Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XY, UK. Tel: [44] (0) 1483 244140.
Biosensors for packaging The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) and the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) have r e c e n t l y u n v e i l e d some e x c i t i n g future innovations in paperboard packaging. These innovations included aseptic drink boxes and developments for the dairy packaging industry. While it may take years or even decades for some of the innovations to reach commercial reality the top prediction of greatest interest to dairy processors is the use of freshness sensors. By changing colour or displaying warnings, biosensors on packaged perishable products such as milk would monitor product freshness and advise consumers when a product was no longer fit or safe to consume. From: Dairy FOODS Newsletter, Volume 49, Number 41, August 8, 1994.
Sensors Sourcebook
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markets. It contains an overview of each market, highlighting key forces influencing growth; market statistics with year-by-year forecasts; an end-user analysis, or a discussion of technology and regulatory issues, as appropriate; and a review of the competitive environment with available market share analysis. Buoyed by technological advances in the 1980s and early 1990s, the global market for industrial sensors and sensing packages will experience large-scale growth. "Intelligent" microprocessor-based sensors will supplant more traditional devices and see increasing applications in process, automotive, medical and other industries. Although large international competitors will have a decisive edge in penetrating new markets, important opportunities will be available for new manufacturers who can address specific sensing problems in new and innovative ways, targeting specific end-user industries and national markets. The price of this publication is $545.00. Contact: Kristina Menzefricke, Frost & Sullivan, Sullivan House, 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W ODH, UK. Tel: [44] (0)171 730 3438. Fax: [441 (0)171 730 3343.
Frost & Sullivan have published "Sensors 1994" an annual sourcebook focusing on specific sensor
vii
Bio
......
ii
nsors & Bioelectronics Update
Biosensors for heart disease, nerve and brain function, and respiratory monitoring are being developed currently, but the dairy industry may represent a significant future market.
Biosensor for myocardial infarction diagnostics: the Eurocardiproject
Job performance monitored by brain electrical activity!
Five European centres will collaborate in the development and clinical testing of a biosensor for the assay in blood plasma of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), a new diagnostic marker of acute myocardial infarction in humans. Studies at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht have revealed that the plasma concentration of FABP is a useful parameter especially for the early assessment or exclusion of myocardial infarction, that is within 2-3 hours after the first onset of infarct-related symptoms (Br Heart J 71: 135-140~ 1994). The routine application of FABP as an early plasma marker requires a rapid assay system, which will be developed as an FABP-immunosensor by the Institute fiir Chemo und Biosensorik in Miinster in collaboration with the Biosensors Research Group at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Clinical evaluation of the FABP-immunosensor will then be performed in a multicentre study, including hospitals in Odense, /krhus, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Maastricht. The project has received funding under the European Community BIOMED 1 programme and will run as a European Concerted Action on the Rapid Diagnosis of Infarction (acronym EUROCARDI). Funding of 300 000 E C U has b e e n g r a n t e d for three years (1994-1996). Contact: J.F.C. Glatz Ph.D., Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Netherlands. Fax: [31] 43 871028.
Work at the University of Illinois's, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology suggests that a computer analysis of a person's job performance - - such as how busy someone is or whether a worker is fatigued can be done instantaneously in real time. Researchers have focused on transferring voltage oscillations, detectable on the scalp, that reflect brain responses to environmental events. These are known as event-related brain potentials. The researchers measured electrical activity as subjects performed a primary task of monitoring six constantly changing gauges and a secondary job, done as time allowed, completing arithmetic problems. They were able to predict, using the scalp-recorded potentials, how well or how poorly each person was doing. The strength of the electrical activity associated with the primary task rose when the job became more difficult, while levels linked to the secondary task declined as less mental time was devoted to it. Arthur F. Kramer, a psychologist and expert in human-computer interaction, claims this is promising technology as we now have computer hardware that allows quick recordings from a large number of electrodes and which will do the analysis. For further information contact: Jim Barlow, Science Editor, News Bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1201 West Nevada Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. Tel: [1] (217) 333 5802.
0956-5663/95/$7.00 © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd.
v
i Nerve signal sensor Researchers in Canada, the USA and Denmark are working on an aid to help people suffering from physical injuries which have caused nerve damage and subsequent paralysis. A project to develop a neural prothesis device has been going on for several years with support from Denmark's Research Fund, the Research Council and private sources. The neural prothesis works by nerve signals, from the skin's natural sensory cells, being used to control the paralyzed muscles in the injured limb. The nerve signals are detected using a so-called nerve-cuff-electrode which is surgically inserted under the skin. The recorded natural sense activity in conjunction with stimulation of the muscle should make it possible for the false limb to perform a functional muscle movement, which the injured person has lost the ability to do. It is hoped that this type of prothesis may be used in other areas of medicine such as controlling bladder and respiratory muscles, and treating spasticity and bedsores• Although the results of this work are very promising much more work needs to be done before the device comes on the market as a commercial product. For further information contact: Thomas Sinkjcer, Aalborg University, Center for Sensory-Motor Interactions (SMI), Fredrik Bajersvej 7D, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark. Tel: [45] 98158522. Fax: [45] 98154008. F r o m New S c a n d i n a v i a n Technology, Volume 6, Number 3, 1994
New acoustic sensor for detecting breathing flow Respiratory rate is an important parameter to be monitored in acute care. Respiratory rate is normally measured by visual observation of breathing motions; however this is labour intensive and is not completely foolproof as it tends to be subjective. Breathing motions may be seen, but a blocked airway means that there is little or no passage of air. A new acoustic sensor for detecting breathing
vi
Biosensors & Bioelectronics VoL 10 No. 1/2 (1995)
flow has been made. The project was started as a pilot study by a research team in Uppsala, Sweden, and is now being carried on by the company H6k Instrument AB in ViisterAs. The sensor, which was patented in 1990, consists of thin plastic hoses forming a "halter" which picks up an acoustic flow-signal. This is transferred to a differentially amplified pair of microphones. The sensor has been clinically tested at centres in Uppsala, V'~isterAs and Orebro with good results. For further information contact: Bertil H6k, H6k Instrument AB, Flottiljgatan 55, S-721 31 Viisterdts, Sweden. Tel: [46] 21 80 O0 99. Fax: [46] 21 80 10 09. F r o m New S c a n d i n a v i a n Technology, Volume 6, Number 3, 1994
Strategic alliance for worldwide anaesthesia market Hewlett-Packard Company's Medical Products Group (Andover, Massachusetts) and Ohmeda (Liberty Comer, New Jersey), a division of The BOC Group (Windlesham, UK), have created an alliance to cooperate in meeting changing customer needs in the anaesthesia care market. The alliance will develop, sell and service integrated anaesthesia delivery systems, patient monitoring equipment and other products widely used in operating rooms around the world. The companies will introduce the Component Anaesthesia Systems (CAS), an ensemble of HP and Ohmeda products incorporating gas flow management, vaporisation, ventilation, physiological and gas monitoring in a single compact unit. Over the past 20 years, hospitals have adopted increasingly specific anaesthesia technology. Today, surgical and anaesthesia caseloads are increasing, while the amount of time to perform procedures is decreasing. The result is a high-pressure environment laden with equipment. Busy clinicians must contend with a proliferation of devices, cables, alarms and information systems. For further information contact: Bob Pirie, Communications Manager, The BOC Group, 10
Biosensors & Bioelectronics VoL 10 No. 1/2 (1995)
The Priestley Centre, The Surrey Research Park, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XY, UK. Tel: [44] (0) 1483 244140.
Biosensors for packaging The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) and the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) have r e c e n t l y u n v e i l e d some e x c i t i n g future innovations in paperboard packaging. These innovations included aseptic drink boxes and developments for the dairy packaging industry. While it may take years or even decades for some of the innovations to reach commercial reality the top prediction of greatest interest to dairy processors is the use of freshness sensors. By changing colour or displaying warnings, biosensors on packaged perishable products such as milk would monitor product freshness and advise consumers when a product was no longer fit or safe to consume. From: Dairy FOODS Newsletter, Volume 49, Number 41, August 8, 1994.
Sensors Sourcebook
.....fii
ii ¸
markets. It contains an overview of each market, highlighting key forces influencing growth; market statistics with year-by-year forecasts; an end-user analysis, or a discussion of technology and regulatory issues, as appropriate; and a review of the competitive environment with available market share analysis. Buoyed by technological advances in the 1980s and early 1990s, the global market for industrial sensors and sensing packages will experience large-scale growth. "Intelligent" microprocessor-based sensors will supplant more traditional devices and see increasing applications in process, automotive, medical and other industries. Although large international competitors will have a decisive edge in penetrating new markets, important opportunities will be available for new manufacturers who can address specific sensing problems in new and innovative ways, targeting specific end-user industries and national markets. The price of this publication is $545.00. Contact: Kristina Menzefricke, Frost & Sullivan, Sullivan House, 4 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W ODH, UK. Tel: [44] (0)171 730 3438. Fax: [441 (0)171 730 3343.
Frost & Sullivan have published "Sensors 1994" an annual sourcebook focusing on specific sensor
vii