Team:UCopenhagen
Rubor. Calor. Tumor. Dolor
. Sensor.
Chronic Inflammatory Diseases
Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (CIDs) are a source of great mental and physical distress to whoever suffers from them, and continue to be of great cost to society. Living with a CID, your well-being is at the mercy of your flare-ups and remissions – inconsistent and unpredictable good days followed by bad days. Sufferers are left needing frequent hospital check-ups, and are thus always reminded of their condition despite not looking sick to others. This dichotomy is another source of distress for sufferers of CIDs, as the gap between being sick and looking healthy is one they’ll most often have to deal with for their entire lives.
Our Patch
To combat this problem, we have designed a sweat collecting plaster that patients with CIDs can use to monitor their inflammation status. This plaster will sit on the skin and change color depending on the patient's level of inflammation, granting them an easy-to-use, non-invasive device that'll give them insight into the progression of their disease.
The Science
Our plaster will contain genetically modified yeast expressing interleukin
receptors that can bind to the inflammatory biomarkers (interleukins)
found in sweat, thus allowing for precise detection of the biomarkers.
When our receptor module detects an interleukin, a signal will be sent
through the yeast via the endogenous pheromone pathway, finally resulting
in the production of a pigment.
For more information, check out our project design page!