Researchers at The Ohio State University, Columbus, say that their technology is closing in on creating low-cost electronic devices that work in contact with inside the body, and that their first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.
One barrier to the development of implantable sensors has been that most existing electronics are based on silicon, and electrolytes in the body interfere with electrical signals in silicon circuits. While other semiconductors might work in the body, they are more expensive and harder to manufacture. So the scientists at Ohio State are working on a coating that will allow the use of silicon-based electronics to work with the electrochemical systems of the human body.
In tests, silicon circuits coated with the technology continued to function, even after 24 hours of immersion in a solution that mimicked typical body chemistry. The results showed that the coating effectively blocked electrolytes from the solution so the sensors remained fully functional.
Once developed, a device using this technology could detect certain proteins that the body produces when it's just beginning to reject a transplanted organ. Doctors would insert a needle into the patient's body near the site of the implanted organ. Silicon sensors on the needle would detect the protein, and doctors would know how to tailor the patient's dosage of anti-rejection drugs based on the sensor readings.
