A Portable and Dual-Button Microneedle Device Enables Intelligent Multimodal Laser Sensing

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Background:

• Frequent blood testing is invasive and impractical for real-time health monitoring.
• Current microneedle platforms for interstitial fluid (ISF) sampling are complex, inefficient, and lack multiplexing capabilities.
• There is a need for user-friendly, rapid, and cost-effective devices for ISF analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, dual-button microneedle device for rapid ISF sampling.
• To integrate multimodal laser sensing for simultaneous molecular and elemental analysis.
• To enhance data interpretation using artificial intelligence (AI) for comprehensive health assessment.

Main Methods:

• A disposable microneedle device with hollow microneedles and microfluidic channels for ISF sampling within 1 minute.
• Development of a sensing module using gold nanocubes and MXene for enhanced laser spectroscopy.
• AI-assisted data processing for spectral data interpretation.

Main Results:

• The device demonstrated user-friendly operation and rapid ISF sampling (< 1 min).
• The sensing module provided signal enhancement for molecular and elemental analysis via laser spectroscopy.
• In vitro and in vivo studies showed promising performance with accuracies exceeding 88%.

Conclusions:

• The developed microneedle device is user-friendly, rapid, cost-effective, and capable of multiplexed analysis.
• This technology bridges advanced laser spectroscopy with point-of-care applications.
• The device shows significant potential for clinical translation in real-time health monitoring.