HMN 2025: How Wearable sensor might assist sufferers with bipolar dysfunction observe medicine ranges by way of sweat

Although lithium is very efficient in treating bipolar dysfunction, the chemical has a slender therapeutic window—too excessive a dose might be poisonous to sufferers, inflicting kidney injury, thyroid injury, and even loss of life, whereas too low a dose renders the remedy ineffective.

The dose of lithium varies between people primarily based on physique weight, weight-reduction plan, and different physiological elements, and requires common measurement of lithium ranges within the blood. Currently, that is solely obtainable by way of commonplace laboratory-based blood attracts, which might be time-consuming, inconvenient, and painful. This makes customized and easily-accessible lithium monitoring an essential objective within the remedy for bipolar dysfunction.

“Our objective was to create an easy-to-use sensor that bypasses the necessity for blood attracts completely,” defined Yasser Khan, a USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering professor who leads the USC Khan Lab, and a part of the USC Institute for Technology and Medical Systems (ITEMS), a joint initiative of USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Keck School of Medicine of USC specializing in modern medical gadgets.

In the paper, “Wearable organic-electrochemical-transistor-based lithium sensor for precision psychological well being,” published within the journal Device, Khan’s staff first recognized sweat as a really perfect different to blood samples as this fluid might be collected noninvasively and displays lithium concentrations in actual time.

To simplify the method even additional, the wearable features a skin-safe, iontophoresis-based system to induce sweat with out requiring bodily exertion. In simply minutes, the machine collects knowledge, which is transmitted on to a smartphone app, permitting sufferers to trace their lithium ranges from the consolation of their very own properties.

Behind it is a highly effective innovation: using natural electrochemical transistors (OECTs) particularly designed for lithium detection. OECTs are digital gadgets that reply to ionic indicators in liquid, changing them into readable digital knowledge. Unlike typical OECTs, which depend on complicated fabrication steps and will not be optimized for lithium, the sensor developed at USC incorporates a absolutely printed OECT utilizing a novel materials formulation tailor-made to detect lithium ions particularly.

“We developed the whole lithium monitoring system—from the OECT-based sensor patch and on-demand sweat induction to the readout electronics and smartphone app—utilizing a easy, scalable, and cost-effective fabrication course of. Our objective was to make lithium monitoring as simple and comfy for sufferers as checking a every day health tracker,” mentioned Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, the primary creator of the research who’s a Ph.D pupil within the Khan Lab.

This makes it the primary OECT-based lithium sensor to be completely printed—a crucial development that paves the best way for inexpensive, scalable manufacturing.

The sensor’s potential extends far past the lab. In partnership with psychiatrist Adam Frank, MD, Ph.D., on the Keck School of Medicine, the machine has already been examined by his sufferers.

“This is without doubt one of the largest advantages of being at USC,” mentioned Khan. “We have scientific collaborators proper throughout campus.” During pilot trials, Khan’s staff labored immediately with Frank and his sufferers to check the sensors in people taking lithium.

Sweat samples had been collected utilizing the wearable machine, and lithium measurements had been efficiently matched in opposition to values derived from cumbersome commercial sensors. Participating sufferers responded positively, expressing reduction on the prospect of monitoring their well being with out repeated hospital visits.

“The capacity to noninvasively monitor lithium ranges will enhance look after sufferers taking lithium, who sometimes require common blood attracts to evaluate lithium ranges. Being capable of observe these ranges repeatedly over time will enhance security by permitting for medicine dose changes that keep away from unwanted effects and potential medicine toxicity,” mentioned Frank.

Next, the staff plans to develop extra superior wearable methods powered by synthetic intelligence to mechanically alter lithium dosage and obtain optimum therapeutic advantages with out inflicting lithium toxicity.