It’s been doing the rounds in all the leading newspapers and electronic media of the world for quite a sometime now. And, not quietly too, it’s infact buzzing its way around!
Yes, there is a new kid on the block, from the mother science.
I am talking about E-MOSQUITO or ELECTRONIC MOSQUITO as the scientists have named it. Sounds a bit weird name is it? From the ages, we all have been questioning silently as to what is the purpose for the existence of a creature like mosquito on this planet Earth, right? Not more than a nuisance it has been; but here we may find some answer to its existence. May be to teach a lesson or two to us by its very nature of work habits. Not getting it, ha?
Let me go one step at a time. All we know about mosquito is that it bites and sucks the blood, isn’t it? Have any of us just wondered as to, whenever a mosquito bites, we never feel the pain until the mosquito has completed its job of bite and suck!!! Only after its job that it leaves an impression of its work with a tiny inflammatory edema at the site of bite (and that too is due to an allergic phenomenon). Astonishing is the fact that, though its pricks and sucks the blood, we never see a drop of the blood spilled out or smeared to the skin around the bite!!! It’s all due to mechanism of bite wherein it sucks the blood of the quantity of micro-liters and though it pierces the skin and blood vessel wall, it never disturbs the nerves around to evoke the pain as such. Moreover it also counter injects a chemical substance into us during the bite that keeps the blood in its fluid state and not to clot as such. Fascinating isn’t it?
Now let us a give a little bit of work to our brains here; what if we can utilize this mechanism of a mosquito, for drawing the blood for sampling. I mean whenever we visit any hospital for any ill health, it’s almost become a routine to draw the blood and send the sample for testing. Though many adults (more so girls, is it?) do find it fearful to get a needle prick for blood sample, it’s really painful for kids and elderly people for sure. If we follow the principle of the mosquito to draw the blood, then, it will be a revolution. Isn’t it? Yes, that is what Now, electrical engineers at the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary have been successful in doing.
They have patented a device called the Electronic Mosquito or e-Mosquito. “Electronic Mosquito”, it is a patch the size of a deck of cards that is fitted with four micro-needles. No, it does not look like a little robot mosquito. The “mosquito” part of its name is due to its ‘biting’ action. The four needles are programmed to bite sequentially at certain intervals. The needles are all electronically controlled to be able to go through the skin deep enough to get blood from a capillary, but shallow enough so that it doesn’t hit a nerve. The result is an almost painless extraction of blood. This has found wide application, as of now for glucose testing. Diabetes, being a global phenomenon now, requires frequent blood glucose level monitoring and also a meticulous control of insulin levels during the treatment. So it really serves the purpose to utilize E-Mosquito for this reason; unique, yet gets the job done as desired.
Getting into the technical aspect of the basis of this device, its a device known as MEMS- MICRO ELECTRO MECHANICAL SYSTEMS. The objective of this research is to implement a MEMS-based microactuator with an integrated microneedle that meets all the necessary design requirements for controlled, automated skin penetration, blood extraction, and subsequent microneedle removal.If the above data makes you let out a sigh of “wow”; wait, the technology does not stop with the extraction of blood. Aside from simply drawing blood, each cell in the e-Mosquito is equipped with sensors that have the ability to measure sugar levels in the blood. The data can then be transmitted wirelessly to a device such as a computer or a monitoring instrument. This works like an alarm system in any banks. Anyone trying to break into the safe locker would be sensed and the alarm would go on. And in no time the cops will be on their duty. Similarly E-Mosquito system can even be attached to an alarm that can alert the patient or health care professionals once sugar levels reach the danger zone. This is of prime importance in case of elderly patients, particularly those living alone and away from anyone’s care (even we have heard of stories where our granny or anyone going for a bath and suffering a hypoglycemic shock which may prove fatal). In such cases the complete track record of the diabetic patient wearing this E-Mosquito (it can be worn as wrist band or an adhesive tape) will be updated to his/her physician and alarming the physician to take necessary action at the danger times. WOW!!!
Life seems to be getting so much more technological, but no complaints. This is just a case where a creature, which was once considered a waste, has provided the scientists some taste for their quest of knowledge. Jai ho mosquito; mean to say E_MOSQUITO!!!
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