A team of engineers and doctors at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has developed a unique 3D-printed light-sensitive medical device that sits directly on the skin and provides real-time feedback to correlate light exposure with disease progression. The device could help millions of people worldwide with lupus and other light-sensitive diseases by providing access to more personalized treatments and information to determine what’s causing their symptoms.
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The study was published in Advanced sciences, an interdisciplinary, award-winning, open-access scientific journal. The researchers have also filed a patent for the device, and the technology is available for licensing.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, about 1.5 million Americans and at least 5 million people worldwide have some form of lupus. Sensitivity to light is common in people with lupus, with 40 to 70 percent of people with lupus finding that their disease worsens when exposed to sunlight or even indoor artificial light. Symptoms of these flare-ups in lupus patients include rash, joint pain, and fatigue.
“I treat many patients with lupus or related conditions, and clinically it is difficult to predict when a patient’s symptoms will worsen,” said Dr. David Pearson, a dermatologist at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and co-author of the study. “We know that ultraviolet light and, in some cases visible lightcan cause flare-ups of symptoms – both on the skin and internally – but we don’t always know which combinations of light wavelengths contribute to symptoms.”
Pearson heard about the groundbreaking, customized wearable 3D printing developed by University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor Michael McAlpin and his team, and contacted him to collaborate on a solution to his problem.
McAlpine’s research team worked with Pearson to develop a first-of-its-kind fully 3D-printed device with a flexible UV-visible light detector that can be placed on the skin. The device is integrated with a dedicated portable console for continuous monitoring and correlation lighting to symptoms.
“This research builds on our previous work, in which we developed a fully 3D-printed light-emitting device, but this time instead of emitting light, it receives light,” said McAlpine, co-author of the study and the Courmeier Family Professor of the Department mechanical engineering. “To measure it, the light is converted into electrical signals, which can then be correlated with the worsening of the patient’s symptoms.”
McAlpine said developing the device, however, was no easy task. The 3D-printed device consists of several layers of materials printed on a biocompatible silicone base. The layers include electrodes and optical filters. Filters can be changed depending on the wavelength of light to be evaluated. The research team also used zinc oxide collect ultraviolet (UV) light and convert it into electrical signals. The device is mounted on the cover, and a special console is attached to collect and store data.
The research team has received approval to begin testing the device on humans and will soon begin recruiting participants for the study.
“We know these devices work in the lab, but our next step is to put them in the hands of patients to see how they work in real life,” Pearson said. “We can give them to participants and track what light they’ve been exposed to and determine how we can predict symptoms. We’ll also continue testing in the lab to improve the device.”
McAlpine and Pearson said the 3D printing process is relatively inexpensive and could someday provide easy and quick access to a device without the expensive manufacturing processes of traditional devices.
“At the moment, there is no other device like it with this potential for personalization and this easy to manufacture,” Pearson said. “I dream of having one of these 3D printers right in my office. I could see the patient and judge what wavelength of light we want to judge. Then I could just print it out for the patient and give it to them. be 100 percent personalized to their needs. This is where the future of medicine is going.”
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