Bioelectrical sensor device

Inventors

Thomas, Sterling Wells • LEONE, Lauren Michelle

Abstract

A bioelectrical sensor for detecting one or more pathogens in a fluid sample is provided. The bioelectrical sensor receives a fluid sample comprising one or more pathogens, and detects the one or more pathogens using a series of chemical reactions. The series of chemical reactions include a detection step in which a detector organism detects a pathogen upon coming into contact with and/or to within a certain proximity of the pathogen, and a reporting step in which a reporter organism responds to the detection by generating an electrical signal comprising information about the detected pathogen. The electrical signal may then be transmitted to a computing device, which may identify the pathogen by mapping the generated electrical signal to a known pathogen.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a bioelectrical sensor and a bioelectrical sensor system for detecting one or more pathogens in a fluid sample. The sensor uses a reaction chamber and a reaction element disposed within the reaction chamber, where the reaction element includes a first organism of a first species to detect a target pathogen by generating a voltage and a second organism of a second species to generate an electrical signal based at least in part on the voltage.

The reaction element is structured with a set of outer layers and an inner region disposed between the set of outer layers, where the inner region is a hollow region. The second organism flows freely in a fluid in the inner region, and the reaction element allows ions released in response to the detection of the target pathogen by the first organism to travel from the set of outer layers to the inner region.

The system further includes a loading port, a pump for directing fluid flow through the system, a substrate, a signal channel to transmit the generated electrical signal, and a computing device. The computing device receives the generated electrical signal and identifies, based at least in part on receiving the generated electrical signal from the signal channel, the first pathogen in the fluid sample.

Claims Coverage

Two independent claims are presented (a bioelectrical sensor and a bioelectrical sensor system). Each independent claim focuses on the same core sensor chemistry/biology pairing with first organism voltage generation and second organism electrical signaling, implemented using a reaction element with outer layers and a hollow inner region that enables ions to travel to a freely flowing second organism, and the system claim adds fluid handling, signal transmission, and computing-based pathogen identification.

Across the independent claims, the inventive concept centers on a reaction element that uses a first organism to generate a voltage upon detecting a target pathogen and a second organism to generate an electrical signal based on that voltage, with ion transport enabled by outer layers and a hollow inner region that permits free fluid flow for the second organism. The system claim extends this by adding a loading port, pump-driven fluid flow, a signal channel, and a computing device for pathogen identification from the generated electrical signal.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications