Development of New Medical Biosensor Chip That Can Predict Cytokine Storm And Foretell The Risk Of Uncontrollable Immune Response

Cytokine storm is an uncontrollable immune response that can lead to damage in the body’s tissue of an individual and can turn out to be lethal. It has been noted that several patients who contracted the Coronavirus died due to this condition. However, detecting this problem in patients and subsequently treating it is rather tricky as doctors cannot predict if or not it will arise beforehand.

To solve this problem, scientists have developed a device that can determine cytokine risk in a particular individual. This is a massive development in the Medical Biosensors Market as now conditions of Cytokine Storm can be treated early, and patients can get due care needed for a speedy recovery. Moreover, it would also be a huge help for patients suffering from COVID_19 and Cancer.

Cytokines are small proteins that act as passengers between various immune cells. They are an essential component for providing a healthy immune response. However, in some cases, their response gets uncontrolled and can lead to disastrous situations through inflammation which is caused by a vicious cycle usually referred to as a cytokine storm. Currently, the condition is getting highlighted due to COVID-19, but about 80% of cancer patients who go for immunotherapy are at a high risk of having an adverse immune response. Hence, this chip would be incredibly beneficial to such patients.

The device developed consists of a chip which is a nano-scale biosensor. It is built from a tiny array of gold pillars and is then attached to antibodies that would, in turn, stick to particular cytokines present in a blood sample (which may be as small as a single drop). The chip produced would be able to detect a distinctive pattern of cytokines, albeit a faint one. It would facilitate the prediction of cytokine storms several days before the event occurs.

The chip contains gold-silver particles which start to emit a bright light whenever they capture cytokine. This means that all that is needed to use these nanoscale sensors are inexpensive optical imaging equipment. The chip can be easily employed in the remote hospital, which is an essential property to have due to the ongoing pandemic and future pandemics.

Cytokine storms are tough to treat. However, knowing which patient is likely to contract will help medical personnel pinpoint their resources much more efficiently. Furthermore, if it is known that the risk is low, then it will empower doctors to ease the treatment as per the patient’s needs. The chip is an excellent contribution to the medical industry as it is cheap and portable; it will also become affordable with time.

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