IIT Hyderabad researchers develop sensor device to detect heart diseases

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad are collaborating with research institutions across the world to develop a device to detect heart diseases with high speed, sensitivity and reliability.

Their ground-breaking work has recently been published in the reputed peer-reviewed Journal of Materials Chemistry B.

A press note issued by IIT Hyderabad on Monday said, "The research team is headed by Professor Renu John Head, Department of Biomedical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad."

"Their work not only offers promise in the diagnosis or prediction of heart disorders within minutes but can also be extended to the detection of other diseases," it added.

The note further said, "The clinical complications of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) are presently major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Primary and specialist health providers use a variety of tools for both clinical assessment of existing heart diseases and to identify vulnerable patients at risk for CVD. Biosensors are one such tool."

"Professor John's study on microfluidics would help in building biomarker-based biosensors that could be used for instantaneous detection of heart attack and other cardiac diseases," the note said.

Elaborating on this collaborative multi-institutional Research, John said, "Biomarkers are biological molecules that represent health and disease states. They are specific chemicals that are released in the body in response to certain physiological conditions."

"Cardiac troponins or cTns, for example, are biomarkers of heart diseases and are conventionally detected in the bloodstream using antibodies that bind specifically to them. Biosensors are devices that combine the sensing element (e.g. antibody) with a transducer that converts the interaction of antibody into an electrical or optical signal that can be measured. Conventional biosensing includes such techniques as ELISA, chemiluminescent immunoassay and radioimmunoassay," he said.

Professor BD Malhotrawho collaborated in this research from Delhi Technological University said, "The major issue with the conventional assays for the detection of cTns relates to poor sensitivity and limit of detection. Improvements in detecting biosensors such as cTns in the blood require improvements in the design of the biosensor.