Ingenious Talks Online – Organic Biosensors and Point-of-Care Technologies for Rapid Diagnostics: Early Detection and Monitoring of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and More

The need for non-invasive health monitoring and Point-of-Care (PoC) diagnostic systems is ever growing. Such systems enable pain-free rapid testing from oral samples such as saliva and exhaled breath in de-centralized test settings, expanding test accessibility to a broader population and reducing the over-dependence on centralized laboratories. Recent global events have shown how a healthcare system that relies entirely on centralized testing can be over-burdened, leading to catastrophic wait times, testing shortages, and an unsatisfactory level of care.

Current commercial efforts into PoC testing have largely been limited to blood-based devices, while efforts into wearable continuous health monitoring systems have predominantly focused on electrophysiological signals, with wearable glucose monitoring systems being the main exception. However, similar efforts for biochemical monitoring of other such analytes through oral samples (such as saliva) have yet to come to fruition.

In this talk, Dr. Prakash will share impactful outcomes achieved by his research team at Carleton, including the development of two novel oral biosensor technologies that can detect hormones and proteins (alpha-synuclein, cortisol, dopamine, etc.) in saliva and exhaled breath condensate (8-isoprostate). Rapid, cost-effective screening of these biomarkers is vital for early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and more.

Dr. Prakash will also discuss his team’s ongoing work in creating a portable rapid molecular assay system for rapid detection of viruses such as SARS-Cov-2.

About the Speaker

Dr. Ravi Prakash is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics at Carleton University, where he oversees the interdisciplinary Organic Sensors and Devices Laboratory (OSDL)–whose research initiatives sustain and support a strong cluster of undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral trainee activities in organic electronics and bio-polymer materials, flexible electronic components for wearables and human-device interfacing, and smart interfaces for environmental monitoring applications. Prior to joining Carleton, Dr. Prakash was an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University and an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health in Alberta.

About the Series

Ingenious Talks is a special speaker series from the Faculty of Engineering and Design that engages the community in discussions of timely and innovative ideas in engineering, design and technology.