Tiny Biosensor Is Just a Cup, a Membrane, and a Magnet | Hacker News Reader

Tiny Biosensor Is Just a Cup, a Membrane, and a Magnet

spectrum.ieee.org

44 pointssizzle11 comments

> The wearable reader is a magnetic-signal transmitter-receiver about the size of a stack of three or four American Kennedy half-dollars or EU 10-euro collector coins.

begs the question of how much that is in terms of Olympic swimming pools

At least they gave sizes in American and metric this time.

Snark aside, rounds to 30mm diameter and 6.5-8.5mm height, if memory serves.

  EU 10-euro collector coin

Greek edition: 40 mm or 28.25 mm diameter depending on coinage year. The German ones are 32.5 mm. The Irish are 38.61 mm. Etc.

so, a perfect object to base a precise measurement on, with "a pinch of salt"

> So, coating the sensor’s “drum” head with concanavalin A, a bean protein with a strong affinity for sugar molecules, produced a glucose sensor

That sounds like a one-off solution that lasts a few days to a few weeks, and then another implant is needed. I don’t think the proteins at the sensor surface can be recycled during use.

Patient: has magnets implanted

MRI: I'll take that, my lad.

I'm not sure if this is the best idea ever.

There are lots of folk who are unable to have mri’s due to implantation already.

There aren’t that many. Some electronics devices (stimulators) and a particular model of stapes implant. There are some old aneurysm clips and heart valves too, but I’ve never encounter them and the patients may not be alive anymore.

Tricky inplants can usually be scanned in the right conditions (setup, hardware and people).

There are low field magnets coming along that that will improve access further, though the testing of various implants will take time.

I’m an MR tech.

I was thinking of pacemakers, but glad to hear that things are improving!

They really are. Most new models and many of the older ones are fine to scan in the right mode, right scanner and with the right people.

And a ad converter

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