Continuous, real-time monitoring of small molecule metabolites in living tissue is critical for managing conditions like traumatic brain injury (TBI), where rapid shifts in metabolism can precede clinical deterioration. Traditional methods such as microdialysis allow for extracellular fluid sampling of metabolites like glucose, lactate, and pyruvate, providing insight into tissue health.
However, these approaches depend on manual sampling and offline biochemical analysis, resulting in delayed data that limits timely intervention. In acute clinical settings, especially neurocritical care, faster and more reliable detection of metabolic disturbances is urgently needed to improve outcomes and prevent irreversible damage.
Current in vivo sensing technologies suffer from poor temporal resolution, signal instability, and complex maintenance requirements. Enzyme-based electrochemical sensors used in glucose monitors degrade over time and require frequent recalibration. Microdialysis systems are hindered by slow sampling rates and large collection intervals, often missing rapid metabolic changes.
Additionally, many platforms depend on biochemical coatings, suffer from analyte depletion artifacts, or rely on bulky optical components that limit in vivo applicability. These constraints highlight the need for a practical, sensitive, and reagent-free system capable of real-time, multi-analyte detection in clinical environments.
This technology is a compact optical microdialysis sensor that enables continuous, real-time detection of multiple small molecule metabolites directly in living tissue. It combines semi-permeable membranes or polymer films with embedded optical waveguides or fibers (e.g., gold-coated or angle-polished silver halide configurations) to guide light across a short, fixed pathlength (10 to 80 microns) for highly sensitive detection. Spectroscopic techniques including infrared, Raman, and ultraviolet light are used to identify target molecules by their unique molecular signatures.
Because the platform does not require biochemical receptors or reagents, it supports simultaneous quantification of metabolites like glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and ethanol with high accuracy. Data can be streamed directly into clinical monitoring systems, enabling real-time decision-making.
U.S. Provisional application serial no. 63/749,262 filed on 01/24/2025
PCT application has been instructed for filing