EEG functional network topology is associated with disability in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most severe neurodegenerative diseases, which is known to affect upper and lower motor neurons. In contrast to the classical tenet that ALS represents the outcome of extensive and progressive impairment of a fixed set of motor connections, recent neuroimaging findings suggest that the disease spreads along vast non-motor connections. Here, we hypothesised that functional network topology is perturbed in ALS, and that this reorganization is associated with disability. We tested this hypothesis in 21 patients affected by ALS at several stages of impairment using resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) and compared the results to 16 age-matched healthy controls. We estimated functional connectivity using the Phase Lag Index (PLI), and characterized the network topology using the minimum spanning tree (MST). We found a significant difference between groups in terms of MST dissimilarity and MST leaf fraction in the beta band. Moreover, some MST parameters (leaf, hierarchy and kappa) significantly correlated with disability. These findings suggest that the topology of resting-state functional networks in ALS is affected by the disease in relation to disability. EEG network analysis may be of help in monitoring and evaluating the clinical status of ALS patients

Real-time smart multisensing wearable platform for monitoring sweat biomarkers during exercise

Sweat secreted by the human eccrine sweat glands can provide valuable biomarker information during exercise in hot and humid conditions. Real-time noninvasive biomarker recordings are therefore useful for evaluating the physiological conditions of an athlete such as their hydration status during endurance exercise. In this work, we describe a platform that in- cludes different sweat biomonitoring prototypes of cost-effective, smart wearable devices for continuous biomonitoring of sweat during exercise. One prototype is based on conformable and disposable soft sensing patches with an integrated multi-sensor array requiring the integration of different sensors and printed sensors with their corresponding functionalization protocols on the same substrate. The second is based on silicon based sensors and paper microfluidics. Both platforms integrate a multi-sensor array for measuring sodium, potassium, and pH in sweat. We show preliminary results obtained from the multi-sensor prototypes placed on two athletes during exercise. We also show that the machine learning algorithms can predict the percentage of body weight loss during exercise from biomarkers such as heart rate and sweat sodium concentration collected over multiple subjects

An epidermal wearable microfluidic patch for simultaneous sampling, storage, and analysis of biofluids with counterion monitoring.

Simultaneous access to different biofluids enables an accurate analysis of multiple analytes, leading to a precision diagnosis and appropriate medication. Additionally, establishing a relationship between various markers in different biofluids and their correlation to biomarkers in blood allows the development of an algorithmic approach, which aids non-invasive diagnosis through single parameter monitoring. However, the main bottleneck that exists in multiple biofluid analyses for its clinical implementation is the requirement of an advanced microfluidic coupled device design, which empowers simultaneous collection and monitoring. To tackle this challenge, an epidermal wearable bio-fluidic patch that facilitates simultaneous on-demand extraction, sampling, and storage of sweat and interstitial fluid (ISF) together with monitoring of their corresponding counterions is presented. The clean room free development of a biofluidic patch is realized through 3D integration of laser patterned optimized microfluidic structures, a low-cost screen-printed stimulation module, and a potentiometric chloride (Cl−) and calcium (Ca2+) ion sensing module for adequate dual biofluid sampling and analysis. The developed Cl− and Ca2+ ion-selective sensors exhibit good repeatability, selectivity, acceptable stability, and sensitivity. The proof-of-concept demonstration of the fabricated patch for simultaneous dual-sampling, storage, and monitoring of the sweat Cl− and ISF Ca2+ on a healthy volunteer during different periods of the day leverages its potential in real-time personalized healthcare clinical usages. Furthermore, the patch's electronic interface and use of wireless transmission facilitates a point-of-care non-invasive lab-on-skin application for monitoring the health status of individuals

Thin film organic electrochemical transistors based on hybrid PANI/PEDOT:PSS active layers for enhanced pH sensing

We report on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) with active channels made of hybrid inkjet-printed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and electropolymerized polyaniline (PANI) layers, exhibiting simultaneously improved electrical and pH sensing characteristics. The aniline electropolymerization with an optimum 6-cycles of cyclic voltammetry forms a porous PANI microstructured layer on the PEDOT:PSS film, resulting in high signal linearity and sensitivity of about 100 mV/pH and 20 μA/pH. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis demonstrates a 9X higher-change of interfacial capacitance when decreasing the pH with the hybrid PANI-PEDOT:PSS layer, in comparison to a bare PEDOT:PSS layer. The simple fabrication process and the high signal amplification pave the way for flexible and higher-performance pH-sensitive OECTs. These scalable devices, combined with ion-selective OECTs, would lead to a novel tool for multi-parametric analysis in different biofluids

Real-Time Multi-Ion Detection in the Sweat Concentration Range Enabled by Flexible, Printed, and Microfluidics-Integrated Organic Transistor Arrays

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) show remarkable promise as biosensors, thanks to their high signal amplification, simple architecture, and the intrinsic flexibility of the organic material. Despite these properties, their use for real-time sensing in complex biological fluids, such as human sweat, is strongly limited due to the lack of cross-sensitivity and selectivity studies and the use of rigid and bulky device configurations. Here, the development of a novel flexible microfluidics-integrated platform with an array of printed ion-selective OECTs enables multi-ion detection in a wearable fashion. This is achieved by coating the poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) channels of the transistors with three different ion-selective membranes (ISMs). Systematic electrical and sensing analysis of the OECTs with ISMs show a minimal impact of the membranes on the electrical and time responses of the transistors while providing high ion selectivity. This work combines for the first time real-time and selective multi-ion detection with an array of inkjet-printed and flexible organic transistors coated with different ISMs, demonstrating state-of-the-art sensing capabilities of approximate to 10 mu A dec(-1)for potassium, sodium, and pH. This flexible OECTs sensing platform paves the way to the next generation devices for continuous electrolytes monitoring in body fluids

Printed Iontophoretic‐Integrated Wearable Microfluidic Sweat‐Sensing Patch for On‐Demand Point‐Of‐Care Sweat Analysis

In recent years, wearable epidermal sweat sensors have received extensive attention owing to their great potential to provide personalized information on the health status of individuals at the molecular level. For on‐demand medical analysis of sweat in sedentary conditions, a cost‐effective wearable integrated platform combining sweat stimulation, sampling, transport, and analysis is highly desirable. In this work, a printed iontophoretic system integrated into a microfluidic sensing platform, which combines sweat induction, collection, and real‐time analysis of sweat‐ions into a single patch for on‐demand sweat monitoring on human subjects in stationary conditions is reported. The incorporation of microfluidics features facilitates sweat sampling, collection, and guiding through capillary effect. The multisensing sensor array exhibits sensitivity close to Nernstian behavior for sodium, potassium, and pH. The correlation between the concentrations of ions measured with the sweat patch and with ion chromatography analysis demonstrates the applicability of the system for real‐time point‐of‐care monitoring of the health status of individuals. Furthermore, the sweat patch electronic interface with wireless transmission enables real‐time data monitoring and storage over a cloud platform. This printed iontophoretic‐integrated fluidic sweat patch provides a cost‐effective solution for the on‐demand analysis of sweat components for healthcare applications

3D-Integration Of Printed Electrochemical Sensors In Pet Microfluidics For Biochemical Sensing

This paper presents a novel process for screen printed electrode fabrication, functionalization and integration in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fluidics system for electrochemical analysis. The innovative components utilized are: 1. 3D Through-Foil Vias (TFVs) for electrode connection, enabling simple liquid tight lamination of micro-fluidic channels; 2. Screen printed carbon and silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes on 3D vias; and 3. PET fluidics with a fabrication process compatible with large-area manufacturing. A platform integrating an Ag/AgCl pseudo-reference and a glucose oxidase (GOx)-modified working electrode has been used for glucose sensing in the flexible fluidics system. Detection of small glucose concentrations between 100-400 mu M through Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) is shown. The sensor shows linear response and good sensitivity of similar to 0.8 mA/(mM cm(2)). By changing the electrode coatings, the same technology can potentially be used for detecting multiple analytes in biofluids

Miniaturized Fluorescence Biosensing Reader for Multiplexed Allergen Screening at the Point-Of-Care

<p>With the steady rise in cases of immune-mediated diseases, extensive studies on environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors are essential [1]. To facilitate such studies, we developed a platform for advanced allergy profiling, consisting of a microfluidic device with micropillars and an automated processing system. This system is capable of detecting allergy-specific IgEs through the utilization of fluorescence-labelled antibodies. To ensure the platform's accessibility and utility in point-of-care settings and smaller laboratories, we have developed a compact, cost-effective fluorescence reader, enabling the automated readout of the microfluidic chip fluorescence. This novel integration offers promising advancements in the diagnosis and study of allergic conditions, providing a feasible tool in various healthcare and research settings.</p&gt

All-Inkjet-Printed Graphene-Gated Organic Electrochemical Transistors on Polymeric Foil as Highly Sensitive Enzymatic Biosensors

We demonstrate fully inkjet-printed graphene-gated organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) on polymeric foil for the enzymatic-based biosensing of glucose. The graphene-gated transistors exhibit better linearity, repeatability, and sensitivity than the printed silver-gated devices studied in this work and other types of printed devices previously reported in the literature. Their limit of detection is 100 nM with a normalized sensitivity of 20%/dec in the linear range of 30–5000 μM glucose concentrations, hence comparable with state-of-the-art OECT devices made by lithography processes on rigid substrates and with complex multilayer gates. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis shows that the improved sensitivity of the graphene-gated devices is related to a significant decrease of the charge-transfer resistance at the graphene electrode–electrolyte interface in the presence of glucose. The optimized sensing method and device configuration are also extended to the detection of the metabolite lactate. This study enables the development of fully printed high-performance enzymatic OECTs with graphene-sensing gates for multimetabolite sensing