CD-MEDICS · Coeliac Disease – Management, Monitoring and Diagnosis using Biosensors and an Integrated Chip System

The overall concept of the CD-MEDICS IP is to develop a technology platform for point-of-care diagnostics, capable of simultaneous genomic and proteomic detection, with embedded communication abilities for direct interfacing with hospital information systems. This will be achieved by exploiting breakthroughs at the confluences of bio-, micro- and nano- technologies to create a low-cost non-invasive intelligent diagnosis system. This platform will be developed in a modular format, which will allow each module to be developed and exploited individually. The modules will subsequently be integrated to facilitate the desired application. Advances in data communications, molecular biology and biosensor technology, with the integration of nanostructured functional components in macro and microsystems, will facilitate the realisation of a minimally invasive generic platform, which is capable of multi-parametric monitoring and will be interoperable with electronic medical records. The advantages of integrated biosensor systems include their ease of use, their sensitivity, their inherent selectivity (preventing problems due to interfering substances), their versatility (allowing 'in-field' use) and their cost effectiveness. Addressing the future health care requirement of an individualised theranostic approach, the specific application that will be demonstrated in this IP will be for the management, monitoring and diagnosis of coeliac disease, with the proposed technology contributing to significant advances in sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis. The technology platform developed, however, could be applied to a variety of clinical screening applications, such as cancer. The radical innovation proposed in this IP will result in a concrete prime deliverable of a technology platform of wide application and unquestionable socio-economic benefit, increasing European competitiveness whilst contributing considerably to the quality of life well-being of the population.