Self-Powered Skin Patch for Cystic Fibrosis Diagnosis

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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic autosomal recessive disease, which induces mutations on a conductance transmembrane regulator protein (CFTR) that controls the exocrine system responsible or producing saliva, sweat, tears and mucus. The protein malfunction affects severely the lungs and digestive system. Patients with CF present also higher chloride contents in sweat than healthy subjects, so chloride testing in sweat has become the gold standard test for CF confirmation after new-born screening blood tests. However, tests on new-borns are not 100% sensitive and not universally stablished along European territory, which leads to patients with a late diagnostic that decreases their life quality and expectancy. The ‘sweat test’ requires either sophisticated analytical procedures or costly commercial analyzers and consumables that restrict the availability of the test to few specialized units scattered along the European territory. POWER-PATCH aims to evolve and promote the value of a novel, market disruptive patch that enables an affordable and easy-to-use sweat test for the screening of cystic fibrosis. The patch has been conceived to be applied on the forearm of the patient and yield a “positive” result in case of an abnormal conductivity level of sweat is detected. It combines the low cost and easy handling of paper that is associated with the filter paper-based diagnosis technique and at the same time allows obtaining a digital response with no further handling or treatment of the sample. Moreover, as it already contains a “battery sensor”, sweat collection and testing does not require additional equipment and can be easily taken to any clinical environment. Within this ERC PoC project, we aim to achieve (i) Technical validation and Clinical testing in a specialized CF unit and (ii) a business proposition in the form of a Business Plan containing strategies for commercialization, fundraising, IP management and future product development.