Can you imagine a tattoo -shaped medical device that helps control the bipolar disorder?
Well that, precisely, is the idea that is created in the Molecular Center of the Puerto Rico University (UPR), where a group of scientists shapes a sticker or removable tattoo that would allow monitoring levels of lithium In people with bipolarity. Lithium is a medication used to treat this neuropsychiatric condition, which causes manic episodes or extreme changes in mood (happiness, energy, impulsivity or depression).
Make informed decisions on drug use, facilitate precise analysis of the amount of medications in the body in real time and avoid their side effects are some of the benefits conceivedhe indicated a The new day The doctor LIZ N. SANTIAGO MARORALscientific director of the project and who devised the device, baptized as Lilattoo.
According to Santiago Miltoral, Lilattoo would not only provide patients with the ability to identify and describe the changes they experience, but would give the medical staff a substantial test that would allow them to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe a medicine according to the identified needs. The product would also be helpful for caregivers.
In 2023, in Puerto Rico, there were 2,938 people diagnosed with bipolar disorderwhich represented, then, 2.47% of patients treated in the services of Mental healthaccording to statistics from Health Department. Meanwhile, 2019 data from the World Health Organization They point out that, then, approximately 40 million people globally suffered from bipolarity, representing about 0.5% of the population.
How would it work?
Santiago Miltal explained that “the idea” with Lilattoo is to mark the levels of lithium in the body to contact with sweat and by changes of colors in photonic crystals. It would have a remote monitoring program in real time – a system similar to the glucose sensor – that would send alerts about changes in the patient.
The executive director of the project, Adialis Figueroa Sánchezhe said, on the other hand, that “the concept of the device is that The patient, from anywhere, can monitor his lithium consumption and how he accumulates in the bodyto maintain control over that bioaccumulation. ”
He also stressed that the proposal would include an application through which people could supervise the sticker or removable tattoo from their mobile phone. With these data, medical staff could also prescribe or adjust the appropriate lithium dose; and caregivers could identify situations that merit immediate attention.
“Lithium is a medication that, if one does not keep it monitored, can raise manic episodes. This product will allow patients to see those levels and maintain control of the medications they are carrying, as well as adapt to how their body consumes them ”said Figueroa Sánchez, postgraduate student in Health Management in the Medical Sciences Campus of the UPR.
At present, there are no homemade tests that allow patients with bipolar disorder to measure lithium levels in the body. “Existing products are invasive and require blood tests, which can be cumbersome for patients,” he said, meanwhile, Luis Bermúdez MoralesProject Operations Director and Doctoral Candidate in Analytical Chemistry of the UPR Río Piedras Campus.
Santiago Miltal abounded that “the sensor (in development) seeks to measure biomarkers, so it is not for a single medication or for a single condition.” “We want to open the space for people with different neuropsychiatric conditions or within the Humor disorders“he noted.
What is next?
The first Lilattoo prototype – in the creation phase now – could be “presentable” in a year and, according to estimates of the team of researchers, would enter the commercial stage in two years.
Santiago Miltral, a doctor in analytical chemistry, exemplified that, in the future, patients with depression, premenstrual syndrome, anxiety and post -traumatic stress disorder could benefit from the device, once technology is perfected and including other medications.
In order to continue with the development of Lilattoo, the team requested assistance to the program “Small Business Innovation Research”, Which would grant federal funds to, mainly reach the marketing stage. He Innovation and Marketing Support Center of the UPR Campus of Río Piedras and the Molecular Center have collaborated with scientists by providing training and laboratories to prepare the project.
In Santiago Miltal’s opinion, the impact that Lilattoo can have on the quality of life of people with chronic medical conditions or mental disorders is what motivates them to move on.