Neo-PATch: Plasma Analyte Transdermal Wearable Sensor for Newborns

Patricia Connolly of the University of Strathclyde and colleagues in the United Kingdom will develop a low-cost, wearable skin patch that can continuously monitor metabolite levels in newborns without the need for blood sampling, and can alert mothers and health workers to potential problems via mobile phone. Changes in metabolites such as those of hemoglobin and bilirubin are used to assess many aspects of newborn health, but current methods require invasive blood sampling and access to laboratory analysis, which is often unavailable in low-resource settings. To address this, in consultation with users in Sierra Leone, Vietnam and India, they will develop a flat patch incorporating their new technology, which painlessly enhances the flow of analytes through the skin for detection, and a Bluetooth connector that can communicate levels to a smartphone. The prototype patch will be laboratory tested to refine the design.