(Bad) Idea for Tear Sensor to Monitor Health

Article: Wearable sensor monitors health, administers drugs using saliva and tears
Source: Pennsylvania State University, via ScienceDaily
Published: February 1, 2021

Drug delivery device concepts

This is another idea from engineering. Because the proposed sensor is peripherally related to eye care, it is addressed in this blog. However, I should preface that I don't think the idea merits much attention. The project has not reached a prototype stage at this point, but the lead investigator proposes that one of the devices could be placed in the tear duct to monitor health through the tears. The in-house news website also states that the devices could help manage "eye wrinkles and oral or eye infections like keratitis, which is inflammation of the clear tissue on the front of the eye." Keratitis is inflammation of the cornea, and while biomarkers in tears could be related to ocular surface inflammation, the connection to managing wrinkles through another one of their devices, a wearable skin patch, is a bit of a stretch. Even more shocking, the Penn State News article states, "This new device not only collects data but also administers medicine with a microneedle through the skin around the eye" (pictured). The lead investigator explains, "Through nano- to micro-steel ports on the device, we can probe the cell to deliver molecular drugs for treatment in a very efficient process at the cellular level...Conversely, the ports can allow us to get access to the gene and coding information on the cell." This seems to be a lot more talk than action. It's unusual to see a news article from a university that is this strange, but I think it illustrates an example of how expertise in one field, such as engineering, can appear very strange when addressing topics less related to those fields of expertise.

My rating of this study: <<<⭐

Sheng A, Lin L, Zhu J, et al. "Micro/nanodevices for assessment and treatment in stomatology and ophthalmology." Microsystems & Nanoengineering.  7(11). 29 January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-021-00238-1