Vibrating sensors created to aid diagnosis of diseases

Engineers have developed a new type of small vibrating sensor that could be used to enhance the detection of biological markers in small amounts of blood.

The new microelectromechanical resonators have been created by a Purdue University-led research team to facilitate sensitive, inexpensive detection of biomarkers that signify disease, illness or trauma.

Using a piezoelectrically actuated resonant microsystem, the sensors are able to detect changes in mass, with sensitivity increasing as the resonant frequency rises, making high-frequency resonators ideal for biomarker detection.

As such, the sensors can detect minute amounts of specific proteins to allow the earliest changes in brain chemistry associated with concussion. It is thought that the technology could also aid the detection of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and a host of other conditions.

Jeffrey Rhoads, a professor in Purdue's school of mechanical engineering, said: "Detecting biomarkers is like trying to find a handful of needles in a large haystack. So we devised a method that divided the large haystack into smaller haystacks."

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