“From the start, I understood this PhD research is very impactful.” Muhammad Farooq is one of the team members at the University of Galway, working on the sensor technology development within the SMARTSHAPE project. Farooq has been there from the very start of the SMARTSHAPE project and even before, as his PhD research preceded the SMARTSHAPE project. Building on the outcomes of his PhD project, the SMARTSHAPE project was initiated to take the technology researched in his PhD to the next level.
With a background in Electrical Engineering, Farooq started his PhD in 2018 to develop a medical device for continuous blood pressure monitoring. Continuous monitoring is crucial in cases of chronic hypertension which are hard to manage. Wearable devices sound like a good solution to track blood pressure levels continuously, if they can provide clinically accurate and reliable data – something which is not always the case, Farooq discovered.
Clinical accuracy and reliability
Farooq explains: “During my PhD, I have completed a clinical study to validate the existing wearable solutions for blood pressure monitoring, and none of the devices were able to fulfil the ISO criteria for accuracy and reliability.” These are criteria set up by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the validation of blood pressure monitoring devices. “These results show that these devices are not suitable for patients to monitor their blood pressure, due to less accuracy and reliability of the data. These results also emphasize the need of a novel solution which can provide better accuracy and reliability, without impacting the routine life of patients,” Farooq explains.
“These results also emphasize the need of a novel solution which can provide better accuracy and reliability, without impacting the routine life of patients.”
This made it clear to Farooq that a novel approach should be taken to optimise the clinical accuracy of blood monitoring systems. “Based on this learning, I have developed a microsensor which can be injected under the skin and can monitor blood pressure with superior accuracy, without impacting the patient’s daily routine.”
The lab where Farooq works.
From PhD project to Horizon project
“From the start, I understood that this PhD research is very impactful. The research outcomes showed the potential of this work. Most of the research results from my PhD were included in the SMARTSHAPE funding application for the Horizon funding. The pre-clinical validation of the microsensor in previous studies showed the potential of this technology,” Farooq notes. “I was very excited to see the sensor performing in previous studies that provided us with the proof of concept in the relevant test environment. This functionality validation gave me a big boost to further work and optimise this microsensor.”
“I was very excited to see the sensor performing in previous studies that provided us with the proof of concept in the relevant test environment. This functionality validation gave me a big boost to further work and optimise this microsensor.”
Currently, Farooq is continuing his work as a postdoctoral researcher in the SMARTSHAPE project, focusing on the microsensor design, optimisation and fabrication for the upcoming preclinical validation study. “The microsensor is miniaturised in size and it is particularly designed and developed for long-term blood pressure monitoring. Having tested the first generation of microsensor in previous studies for efficacy and biocompatibility, we are now at the point of performing more extensive testing on our latest and improved version of the microsensor.’’
Together with the other partners in the SMARTSHAPE project, Farooq is preparing for this next validation step, which will hopefully bring us one step closer to clinical testing and, ultimately, continuous monitoring and personalised control of hypertension. Stay tuned for more insights in our work.
