Background
Joint injuries, such as cartilage defects or ligament ruptures, can lead to the development of chronic pathologies such as osteoarthritis (OA). Chronic inflammatory diseases of the skeletal system usually are not diagnosed in the early stages, and the diagnosis often comes only when the damage becomes irreversible. Real-time nitric oxide (NO) monitoring offers a promising means of mitigating inflammation and disease progression through early diagnosis and treatment.
Goal
The proposed monitoring method is based on optical sensors that can be implanted under the skin at the joint. The miniaturization and the absence of wires in the sensor would allow a non-invasive means of monitoring NO at the joint. The optical NO sensor may be read by a portable reader, so inflammation measurement could be used to administer any preventative action or treatment when necessary.
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Partner
Zubkovs V (Dr), CSEM, Centre suisse d’électronique et de microtechnique, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Boghossian A (Prof), EPFL, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland