ABOUT THIS PROJECT:
A miniature Bio-photonics Companion Diagnostics platform for reliable cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring
The project aims to develop a miniaturized, ultra-sensitive and reliable Point-of-Care (PoC) device with disposable microfluidic cartridge for the monitoring of cancer biomarkers in body fluids and specifically in whole blood samples. The proposed PoC device will aid primary tumor and metastases detection, as well as monitoring of drug efficacy as a companion diagnostic, with main focus in three cancer types: breast cancer, hormone-independent prostate cancer and melanoma. It will provide clinicians, caretakers and patients with a more sensitive, robust and selective tool for improved clinical decisions through the early and fast diagnosis of the disease, as well as monitoring of therapeutic response, reducing the cost of the healthcare system. Besides the obvious health benefit for the patient, it will contribute to the sustainability of the European health care system by decreasing the expenditure associated with pharmaceutical treatments and with hospitalization.
THE ROLE OF LIONIX INTERNATIONAL:
Within the BIOCDx project LioniX International develops and fabricates different generations of TriPleX® technology based photonic chips with arrays of asymmetric Mach-Zehnder Interferometer elements that will be used as a highly sensitive biosensor for detection of the different relevant cancer biomarkers. Furthermore, an assembly approach is developed, including the hybrid integration of low cost VCSEL sources and photodiodes on chip, and assembly of the chips with associated microelectronics into the disposable cartridge, which enables a further integration and miniaturization of the sensor platform.
