I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Wearable Biosensor for Continuous Detection of Free Insulin

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is based on the development of a novel sensor for detecting free insulin. The sensor will provide its users with critical insights into their metabolic status and health. Such a device has broad-ranging healthcare applications, including early screening for metabolic disease, types I & II diabetes care management, and gestational diabetes screening.

The ability for physicians to detect the early stages of metabolic disease may reduce the strain on the healthcare system, as diabetes care management accounts for one of every four healthcare dollars spent in the U.S. and costs over $400 billion annually. The advanced insight gleaned from preventive screening for metabolic disease can improve quality of life, minimize the complications associated with diabetes, and reduce the financial burden of metabolic disease.

This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of a minimally invasive, wearable biosensor for continuous detection of free insulin. The sensor will quantify the user’s metabolic health (namely, insulin resistance).

Currently, the diagnostic criteria for prediabetes and type II diabetes rely on elevations in blood glucose, a late-stage marker present when the disease has become difficult to manage. Emerging evidence suggests that insulin resistance precedes glucose dysregulation by nearly a decade, but there are currently no widely available diagnostic and monitoring technologies.

Metabolic dysfunction and disease progression begin with insulin resistance, which is first apparent in the minutes and hours that follow a meal (“post-prandial insulin”). In this context, continuous insulin monitoring provides a unique opportunity to detect diabetes at its earliest stage, when it is most amenable to intervention.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.