DETECTION OF ANOMALOUS SODIUM CHLORIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN PERSPIRATION USING MICROSENSORS

摘要

It is common knowledge that an early diagnosis of a disease improves the treatment provided to a patient. With the advent of nanotechnology, engineers and scientists are beginning to utilize these nanoscale capabilities in the hope of - early disease detection. Viral, bacterial infections and other chronic diseases seem to alter the concentrations of some compounds present in sweat. This project attempts to detect some of these diseases by measuring the variation in salinity of sweat that differs from the commonly accepted level. By creating a low-cost, reusable and portable microsensor, it can then apply the same principles to construct a nanosensor to yield even more accurate results. The electrical signals obtained by the sensor produce data that translates into diagnostic medical results for sweat-related illnesses such as cystic fibrosis. For a deeper and thorough understanding of all aspects of the sensor, multiple concepts for measuring sweat using electrical signals were considered. Ultimately, the concept chosen to measure varying sweat concentrations was through a capacitor. Multiple capacitor designs were simulated to determine the best way of maximizing performance. After the sensors were constructed, they were tested using various concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), from 0.1 grams per liter to 5 grams per liter, dissolved in distilled water to mimic the effect of authentic human sweat. The designed sensor is successfully able to determine the likelihood of a person having cystic fibrosis using a sweat sample as their sweat sodium chloride concentration will correspond to an electrical signal obtained throughout the testing process.