Biodesign Challenge 2023 Summit group submission with Conner McGill, Natalie Faiola, Gabriel Wong, Bao Pham, and assistance from Brynna Justice (TA). What might user-friendly consumer alternatives for sampling and analyzing your gut microbiome look like?
The gut microbiome's relationship with health is an emerging field of scientific study and is not well understood yet. We do know, however, that our gut microbiomes play integral roles in our bodies and are deeply entwined with our brains. Links to many health issues, both mental and physical, can be clearly drawn in correlation to a diverse gut microbiome. As such, it has become an increasing area of interest for scientific research.
Current methods of sampling the gut microbiome are invasive, slow, and/or not very accessible due to high costs or requiring repeated visits to labs. In addition, your gut-microbiome changes throughout the day depending on your activities which makes sampling twice a day more beneficial. We came up with two speculative diagnostic tools that solved these issues.
Solution 1: Microvis
Several studies suggest that the lung microbiome strongly correlates to the gut microbiome's diversity. With this in mind, one could theoretically sample breath volatiles to get a general picture of one's gut diversity.
Microvis would be a home diagnostics tool that can be stored in the bathroom allowing users to see a diversity breakdown in the morning and at night.
The goal was to design something quick, simple, and easy to incorporate into people's daily routines.
Before brushing their teeth, users would insert an agar slide into Microvis, breathe into the device, set it on its stand, and leave it until their next use.
One study was able to use deep learning image recognition AI with input from an inexpensive thin-film-transistor camera to identify strains of bacteria. Using this technology, the device would analyze bacteria strains and then send the results to your phone via Bluetooth when you next use the device.
Deep learning bacteria recognition examples
Source: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00572
App Mockup:
Users could optionally input information about their diet, as well as their race, location, and other relevant information, to get a deeper sense of how their eating affects them. The app could additionally allow users to compare themselves to similar demographics. This app would be designed to be low-stress and not something to impulsively check.
Users could optionally input information about their diet, as well as their race, location, and other relevant information, to get a deeper sense of how their eating affects them. The app could additionally allow users to compare themselves to similar demographics. This app would be designed to be low-stress and not something to impulsively check.
We polled a little under 100 people at our college during a college-wide project exhibition. The significant majority of people said they would be unopposed to sharing this information for this purpose. Additionally, most said they would be interested in this technology if it were made easily available. The potential sampling bias from surveying a tech-focused college may be worth noting.
Theoretical internal component breakdown
The device would be sterilized by UV lights when not in use to prevent cross-contamination. The stand would provide the power entirely.
Solution 2: Microsonus
Two recent studies were able to genetically modify the acoustic reporter genes of E. coli to be strong enough that ultrasound could physically map microbiome populations in mammal hosts. One of these studies, published in 2023, was able to use tumor-homing E. coli to map cancer tumors in real-time. Both studies have had successful test on rats, however, human testing had not yet occurred at the time of this project.
Microsonus would be a relatively inexpensive ultrasound wand with a display screen that uses this biotechnology to allow users to map their gut microbiome easily.
Users would receive genetically modified E. coli in the form of a pill and ingest it.
We also polled opinions on this during the previously mentioned college-wide project exhibition and found the vast majority to be unopposed to the prospect of ingesting genetically modified E. coli if they knew it was safe.
Users could then scan themselves with the device, seeing information on a screen on the device.
Finally, both of these devices could serve as invaluable tools for furthering microbiome research. Users could opt-in to share data for democratic access.
The above-mentioned people provided additional consultation and feedback.
Sources:
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