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Two UT professors created a device that uses biomarkers in the blood to detect PTSD and other conditions like bovine tuberculosis and human influenza.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two UTK professors partnered with CFD Research Corporation to create a device that uses biomarkers in the blood to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder. The device can also detect other complex conditions like bovine tuberculosis and human influenza.
“I think it will be as good as those lab-based diagnostic instruments,” Jayne Wu, a professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, said.
The device uses AC electrokinetics-integrated capacitive, or AiCAP, originally developed to prevent mastitis on dairy farms. Wu worked with Shigetoshi Eda, a professor in the School of Natural Resources, on the $2 million project to develop the handheld biosensor.
“People start contacting us for collaboration,” Wu said. “We started expanding technology to detect other types of biomarkers and accumulate data. Then later on, we had many papers published on various biomarkers, and then that attracted attention in the technical field.”
CFD Research Corporation reached out to Wu and Eda in 2023, inquiring about the new device. The tech development firm was looking to create a low-cost tool that was minimally invasive to detect PTSD.
“With this low-cost solution, we can do a panel of them and it can get a holistic evaluation of the person’s conditions,” Wu said. “PTSD is a good example and we want to tackle the conditions that currently does not have a solution.”
PTSD is associated with more than one biomarker, according to Wu. This device can now identify over a dozen PTSD-related biomarkers from just one sample of blood.
“To detect those biomarkers in the bar sample, you typically have to wait for diffusion to your sensor surface to catch it. That takes a long time,” Wu said. “We brought into a kind of active convection that will shorten the time. Meanwhile, we can get more onto the surface for binding to reach a detectable signal, so the sensitivity is high as well.”
Josh Gagnier, Founder of Mission Phoenix, said the best way to diagnose PTSD today is to have a conversation.
“When we deal with a veteran, it takes weeks and sometimes months to be able to diagnose them with the type of post-traumatic stress that they have and what their symptoms are,” Gagnier said.
He said military veterans have to relive their trauma while explaining their symptoms to a professional to get diagnosed. He said relying on veterans who self-diagnose can be difficult because the diagnosis oftentimes comes with a surrounding stigma.
“This is going to change everything that happens moving forward as far as how we deal with post-traumatic stress and how society will be able to actually be able to identify a veteran that has those symptoms without them having to self-diagnose themselves,” Gagnier said.
Gagnier lost his father to suicide as a result of post-traumatic stress in 2017.
He said he has done everything he can to support the veteran community by creating programs to lower the number of veteran suicides. He said this new device, if commercialized, is “groundbreaking” for military veterans.
“It’s going to revolutionize the way that we actually communicate with them, how we train them, how we teach them, and how we can serve them,” Gagnier said. “Ultimately, this is going to save a lot of lives.”
The device can detect heavy metals, pesticides, and bacteria present in the environment’s water and pathogens in food, according to Wu. She said she hopes to commercialize the device nationwide.
“It’s a phase two project, so we are very encouraged by the results,” Wu said. “Hopefully, we’ll secure phase three, and that will make us closer to the commercialization.”