MEMS Sensors for Diagnostics and Treatment in the Fight Against COVID-19 and Other Pandemics

Abstract

As the world is going through an existential global health crisis, i.e., the outbreak of novel coronavirus-caused respiratory disease , the healthcare systems of all the countries require readily available, low cost and highly precise equipment for the rapid diagnostics, monitoring, and treatment of the disease. The performance and precision of this equipment are solely dependent on the sensors being used. The advancement in research and development of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) based sensors during recent years, has resulted in the improvement of the conventional equipment being used in biomedical and health care applications. Microfluidics (Lab-on-a-chip) and MEMS sensors are now being used extensively for quick and accurate detection, progression monitoring, and treatment of various diseases including Covid-19. The ongoing miniaturization and design improvements have resulted in more precise sensors and actuators for healthcare applications, even for micro and nanoscale measurements in drug delivery and other invasive applications. This article aims at reviewing the MEMS sensors being used or which can be used in the important equipment for the detection and treatment of Covid-19 or other pandemics. An insight into various designs and working principles of the research-based and commercially available MEMS sensors is presented. The study highlights the role and importance of MEMS sensors in the improvement of equipment with conventional sensors. MEMS sensors outperform the conventional sensors due to their small size (1µm-1mm), negligible weight, prompt response, precise measurements, portability, and ease of integration with electronic circuitry.

Freestanding Laser-Induced Graphene Ultrasensitive Resonative Viral Sensors

“…In addition, the plethora of novel sensors demonstrated new approaches for the detection of COVID-19. , These include optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, , Raman-based sensors, fluorescence sensors, and a wide variety of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices that merge physiological readings (e.g., temperature, heartbeat, etc.) to detect COVID-19 . Reducing the size of the COVID-19 sensors to the nanoscale has demonstrated sensors with high sensitivity.…”

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) for Biomedical Applications

“…Additionally, these techniques could include specific components responsible for the three main steps of PCR, i.e., hydrogen bond breaking through heating, reaction with the primer through culling down, and DNA replication with nucleotides and DNA polymerase through the second heating step, onto a single chip. In this manner, a cost-effective and rapid diagnosis device could be developed [175,176].…”

Integrated Microfluidic-Based Platforms for On-Site Detection and Quantification of Infectious Pathogens: Towards On-Site Medical Translation of SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Platforms

“…Current microfluidic devices for the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in patient samples hold great promise for future on-site diagnostic use. The increase in detection speed, specificity and sensitivity achieved through microfluidic integration largely improve the potential use of these devices in low-resource settings where access to diagnostic tests is severely limited [97,98]. However, many of these techniques are limited by the cost of fabrication in mass production, as well as in their robustness and durability outside of laboratory settings.…”