Clemson University To Develop Implantable Biochip For Department Of Defense
Pastor Dale Morgan
Clemson University To Develop Implantable Biochip For Department Of Defense*
Anthony Guiseppi-Elie predicts the biochip is five years away from human
trials.
by Staff Writers
Clemson SC (SPX) Jul 31, 2007
The Department of Defense has awarded $1.6 million to the Center for
Bioelectronics, Biosensors and Biochips (C3B) at Clemson University for
the development of an implantable biochip that could relay vital health
information if a soldier is wounded in battle or a civilian is hurt in
an accident. The biochip, about the size of a grain of rice, could
measure and relay such information as lactate and glucose levels in the
event of a major hemorrhage, whether on the battlefield, at home or on
the highway.
Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, C3B director and Dow Chemical Professor of
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and professor of bioengineering
says first responders to the trauma scene could inject the biochip into
the wounded victim and gather data almost immediately. The device has
other long-term potential applications, such as monitoring astronauts'
vital signs during long-duration space flights and reading blood-sugar
levels for diabetics.
"We now lose a large percentage of patients to bleeding, and getting
vital information such as how much oxygen is in the tissue back to ER
physicians and medical personnel can often mean the difference between
life and death," said Guiseppi-Elie. "Our goal is to improve the quality
and expediency of care for fallen soldiers and civilian trauma victims."
The biochip also may be injected as a precaution to future traumas, he adds.
Clemson scientists have formulated a gel that mimics human tissue and
reduces the chances of the body rejecting the biochip, which has been a
problem in the past. The researcher predicts the biochip is five years
away from human trials. The award is funded by the Department of Defense
through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program and is a joint study
with the department of molecular pathology at the University of Alabama
at Birmingham and Telesensors Inc. in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Center for Bioelectronics, Biosensors and Biochips, located in the
Clemson University Advanced Materials Center, operates cooperatively
with industry in molecular bioanalytics and biometrology research. The
center focuses on the development of platform technologies that are of
mutual interest to the industrial consortium members and faculty while
providing education and training for science-, technology-, engineering-
and mathematics-oriented high school students, science teachers,
undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral trainees.