Gastric resident electronics for marine mammals health
Abstract
Marine mammals play an indispensable role in US Navy by providing rapidly deployable support in mine and undersea warfare missions. Marine mammals# unique capabilities and physiological adaptation, such as dolphins# underwater directional hearing with sonar and sea lions# low-light vision, have yet to be matched by existing technological counterparts. However, the diagnosis and management of marine mammals# health remain challenging as marine mammals have evolved to mask illness or injury to avoid predation and require daily observation by animal trainers and routine physical examinations by veterinarians to detect subclinical conditions. Wireless electronics have been demonstrated in humans and a broad range of terrestrial animals as a powerful approach to enable or support remote detection, prevention, and treatment of diseases. Recent advances in wearable, epidermal and implantable electronics have shown the feasibility to integrate a broad range of capabilities, such as rapid and longitudinal sensing for physiological parameters and biomarkers; as well as supporting or enabling remote & on-demand treatment strategies. The ability of rapid diagnosis can play an invaluable role in early detection and prevention as well as enhancing treatment effectiveness with marine mammals. However, marine mammals# aquatic lifestyle and physical adaptation present several fundamental incompatibilities with the previous developments in wireless electronics. First, in the case of implantable electronics: it requires an invasive surgical procedure that can cause stress and disruption to the marine mammals before, during, and after the recovery process. Second, unlike the wound site for terrestrial mammals, the healing of open wound for aquatic mammals are significantly more challenging due to their constant exposure to the open ocean. Third, an implanted device carries an inherent risk of eliciting foreign body reactions and can serve as a nidus site for long-term infection. Other non-invasive electronics integration strategies, such as epidermal and wearable electronics have been extensively developed. However, due to the inherent anatomy difference and the aquatic needs of marine mammals and the human body, the attachments of such devices will introduce interference during their activities. Further, such devices have very limited access to marine mammals bodies due to the significant thickness of the skin and fat layer. Here, we hypothesize that than noninvasive integration of electronics for marine mammal s health can be realized with Gastric Resident Electronics (GRE), which is a novel concept that leverages the significant space and immune-tolerant environment available within the gastrointestinal tract to circumvent the potential complications associated with surgically placed medical implants. GRE is uniquely suited to overcome the fundamental incompatibilities with wearable and implantable electronics for marine mammals discussed above with three key innovations: First, oral delivery of GRE leverages the naturally evolved delivery mechanism for food ingestion, circumventing the need for more invasive device placement. This is particularly attractive for marine mammals as electronics can be directly delivered without interruption of their daily activity. Second, oral delivery of electronics can leverage the significant space and immune-tolerant environment available within the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). Third, oral ingestion of electronics can provide direct access to the body of marine mammals which is otherwise challenging to be reached without invasive probing. The ability to access the inner body without causing any physical injury can provide noninvasive means for physiological monitoring (e.g., core body temperature), or access to blood vessels, enteric nervous system, and gut microbiota that is increasingly being recognized for their critical roles in systemic health and disease.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 15, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312391
Entities
People
- Yong Lin Kong
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Utah