A team of scientists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, have developed a tiny implantable device that can analyze the concentration of up to five proteins and organic acids in the blood simultaneously, and then transmit the results directly to a doctor's computer.

This method will allow health care providers to be better able to monitor patients, particularly those with chronic illness or those undergoing chemotherapy. The prototype, still in the experimental stages, has demonstrated that it can reliably detect several commonly traced substances.

The implant includes five sensors, a radio transmitter, and a power delivery system. Outside the body, a battery patch provides 1/10 watt of power, through the patient's skin, with no need to operate to change batteries.

Information is routed through a series of stages, from the patient's body to the doctor's computer screen. The implant emits radio waves over a safe frequency. The patch collects the data and transmits them via Bluetooth to a mobile phone, which then sends them to the doctor over the cellular network.

The implant could be particularly useful in chemotherapy applications. In patients with chronic illness, the implants could send alerts even before symptoms emerge, and anticipate the need for medication. Researchers hope the system will be commercially available within 4 years.

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