Nanosensors for Futuristic Smart and Intelligent Healthcare Systems
The Healthcare sector is probably the most benefited from the application of
nanotechnology. The concept of nanotechnology was proposed in 1965 by Richard
Feynman, a physicist and Nobel Laureate. The main idea behind nanotechnology
was to exploit the advantages of miniaturization of materials and explore the
future of creating compelling and tinier devices. The standard working range of
nanotechnology is 1 to 100 nanometers. The matter changes its behavior as its
size is reduced to nanoscale due to quantum size effects. One of the early
applications of nanotechnology is in the field of nanosensors. A nanosensor is
not necessarily a device merely reduced in size to a few nanometers, but a device
that makes use of the unique properties of nanomaterials and nanoparticles to
detect and measure new types of events in the nanoscale. A typical sensor has
three main modules: a receptor a transducer and a detector with a digital
output. Hence, nanosensors are sensing
devices with at least one of their sensing dimensions up to 100 nm. The
nanostructure materials used in the production of nanosensors include nanoscale
wires, carbon nanotubes, thin films, nanoparticles, and polymer nanomaterials.
In order to provide better-quality healthcare, it is very important that
high standards of healthcare management are achieved by making timely
decisions based on rapid diagnostics, smart data analysis, and informatics
analysis. Smart nanosensors are emerging as efficient and affordable analytical
diagnostics tools for early-stage disease detection. Nanosensors can detect
analytes or biomarkers in a small quantity of samples such as blood, saliva,
tears, and sweat. A biological marker or biomarker is a characteristic that is
objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes,
pathogenic processes or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. Emerging
nanomaterial science and flexible electronics have led to wearable biophysical
nanosensors that are capable of monitoring human activities, body motions, and
electrophysiological signals such as electrocephalogram and electrocardiograms.
Wearable biochemical nanosensors are emerging for the noninvasive detection of
molecular-level indicators such as electrolytes and metabolites from biofluids. Nanosensors are widely used to detect antibodies, antigens, or nucleic
acids in crude samples such as saliva, sputum, and blood-based on
colorimetric, fluorescent, or electrochemical detection approaches. Nano biosensor offers many advantages such as being affordable, sensitive, specific,
user-friendly, rapid and robust, equipment-free, and deliverable to end users.
Wearable devices such as activity trackers and smartwatches can provide
unique insights into our health and well-being. During the coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the potential of wearable health devices has become
increasingly apparent. With the advances in point-of-care testing (POCT),
chip-based and paper-based nanobiosensors have been developed for the rapid
diagnosis of infectious diseases. POCT ensures fast detection of analytes near
to the patients facilitating a better disease diagnosis, monitoring, and
management. Hence, nanobiosensors can be a reliable and cost-effective way to
detect the specific pathogen in point-of-care settings. Wearable nanobiosensors
have the potential to provide continuous real-time physiological information via
dynamic, noninvasive measurements of biochemical markers in biofluids, such as
sweat, tears, saliva, and interstitial fluids. Wearable sensors have received
much attention since the arrival of smartphones and other mobile devices.
Wearable monitoring platforms can lead to insights into dynamic biochemical
processes in biofluids by enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of
biomarkers. Such real-time monitoring can provide information on wellness and
health. As the disease can be diagnosed at an early stage, quick medical
decisions can be taken to start early treatment. Numerous potential
point-of-care (POC) devices have been developed in recent years which are
paving the way for next-generation POC testing.
Significant advances in wireless communication and networking
technologies have paved the way to envisage and design innovative healthcare
services. Various wireless technologies have been used to transmit data within
a wearable body area network (WBAN) such as BLE, ZigBee, ultra-wideband, and
Wi-Fi. Wearable sensor nodes are deployed inside a WBAN to monitor
physiological signals. The internet of nano things (IoNT), the interconnection of
nanoscale devices to the existing communication networks, has the potential to
bring a revolutionizing advancement in the field of real-time monitoring of
healthcare services. A combination of multiplexed biosensing, microfluidic
sampling, and transport systems have been integrated, miniaturized, and combined with
flexible materials for improved wearability and ease of operation.
Keeping in view the above points we have designed this book for the application of nanosensors technology in healthcare systems. The overall theme of this book is to compile a comprehensive treatise on nanosensors for the healthcare system. Specifically, we address the enthusiasm that nanosensors technology including wearable and wireless tools have provided to monitor health status in real-time and diagnosis of infectious diseases particularly keeping in view the current situation of pandemic COVID-19 disease worldwide, which might change the behavior of people in future. In this book, we have attempted to focus on the basic concept of fundamentals, nanomaterials, and sensing paradigms leading to healthcare applications including implantable devices, wearables, wireless devices, and microfluidics, as these are central to nanoscale medical technology development. In chapter 1, we provided the basics and recent advances of smart nanosensor technology in the healthcare sector. Chapter 2 discusses about the development of nanosensor technology in biomarkers detection used for disease diagnosis, while chapter 3 addresses infectious disease diagnosis including COVID-19 disease using innovative nanosensors. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the use of nanogenerator-based self-powered sensors in the healthcare system and provide the recent development in this technology. Chapters 6 to 12 are centered on recent advances in wearable and implantable devices providing a glimpse into the world of wearables. Chapter 6 describes minimally invasive microneedle nanosensors focusing on COVID-19 disease. In chapter 7, wearable devices for real-time disease monitoring are covered to provide insight into the point of care treatment (POCT), especially during the pandemic coronavirus disease period. Nanocarbon-based sensors are discussed for wearable health monitoring parameters such as EEG, ECG, EMG in chapter 8. Chapter 9 provides a basic background of electrochemical wearable sensors for applications in biomedical and healthcare systems. Smart textile-based wearables nanosensors are addressed in chapter 10 while the emerging topic of electronic skin (E-skin) is introduced in chapter 11. Non-invasive and implantable wearable and dermal nanosystems applied for healthcare are covered in chapter 12. Wireless nanosensors used in the healthcare system for monitoring health status in real-time are described in chapter 13. Chapter 14 explores the potential role of nanosensors in the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). In chapter 15, microfluidics chip technology for disease diagnosis is discussed using the dielectrophoresis technique. The book will not be complete without a discussion on the use of nanosensor arrays (chapter 16), as these are becoming fundamental to innovative approaches for medical diagnosis in the futuristic healthcare sector.
Since the treatment is comprehensive, we expect
this compilation to be valuable to researchers, scientists, and engineers interested
in the field of nanosensors development, medicine, healthcare, and nanotechnology.
This book could be used as an introductory text by graduate students and consultants
wanting to obtain a quick introduction to nanosensors for healthcare with a
focus on nanomaterials, devices, tools, technologies, and real-world
applications.
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