The Device
The Non-Invasive Continuous Optical Lactic Acid Sensor (N.I.C.O.L.A.S.) is a smart lactate sensing modality for continuous, noninvasive blood lactate level monitoring in clinical settings. It will be a vast improvement upon current methods due to its ability to sample lactate levels continuously and non-invasively via a finger clip on the nail bed that will be less resource intensive on hospitals. Our sensor will utilize near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and ratiometry to detect rapid spikes in lactate levels, relative to other endogenous analytes. This will help healthcare providers better utilize lactate as an early indicator of sepsis, organ failure, and hemorrhage, allowing for earlier preventative intervention in life-threatening situations, which will ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes and lower morbidity and mortality rates.
Block Diagram
