Statistically,
about 1 in 10 of us
will develop diabetes
And, statistically, more or less 1 in 3 of us
will develop some type of cancer.
Knowing that: how many of you would like to have a biochemical friend,
Like me, I could go to his house at any time
do the tests,
give you the results,
and, with those numbers, call the doctor
and develop a therapy that fits specifically
to the needs of you?
Well, that’s called personalized medicine,
and, unfortunately, for a matter of time, cost and space,
it is incompatible with traditional clinical analysis systems.
However, in our laboratory
We believe that one of the pillars of this transformation
that will change the way we relate to medical systems
is the development of miniaturized systems.
In our laboratory, we are working on systems
so small, simple and cheap,
that can even be used directly by patients.
And I would like to ask you
how many of you know
how they started doing clinical analyzes
to diagnose diseases.
For example, like diabetes.
Diabetes, it’s called diabetes mellitus,
and it is so called because it combines two Greek words:
the first, which means siphon;
and the second, which means sweet.
And, without much appeal to The fat book of Petete,
You can tell that you started diagnosing
finding sugar in the patients’ urine.
And, something like 2500 years ago,
that diagnosis was made from finding urine;
and there were people who tested patients’ urine.
From that time until now,
a million have been developed
of analytical strategies to measure chemical compounds
in a lot of samples.
However, the vast majority
of the clinical tests that are done today,
are made by people who are highly trained
and they use large equipment
and of very, very high cost.
Only in some cases in particular
other strategies can be used;
as, for example, reactive batteries,
that allow us to find
some very common compounds in the urine.
One step up in order of complexity,
we can see the glucometers, which are used to measure
a relatively common molecule
and that is in relatively high concentrations.
One step up, we find the pregnancy tests,
that, while they are very sensitive and very specific,
they only give us a binary response.
Of course, in the case of most of you,
probably do not mind knowing
if they are a little or very pregnant.
If we go one step further,
we found microfluidic systems, but traditional ones;
that, while they are very versatile
and they allow us to measure a lot of other molecules,
they still require the use of very specialized instrumentation.
In our laboratory we are making other devices
who try to combine all these advantages
of these devices that already exist,
so that we can measure relatively complex molecules,
as they can be, tumor markers,
which are in very, very low concentrations.
And we want, in addition,
that these devices can do the analysis
in a simple, cheap, fast and portable way.
Practically nothing.
And for that, what we use is paper,
because the paper meets the three bes:
It’s good, nice and cheap.
It’s good, because we can process it
using technology that already exists,
like, for example, a printer, a little scissors
or even a fibron.
And once the patient used it,
simply put a match near it and the pathogenic residues are finished.
It’s nice, because it has a uniform white color,
and then it allows us to program chemical reactions
that give a change of color,
and also, it allows us to program a lot of different reactions,
and then we can measure a lot of different compounds
on the same chip.
And it’s also very cheap, because it’s paper.
In fact, the chips that we make in our laboratory
we make them with filter paper,
but there are a lot of other people
who has made chips with napkins and even with toilet paper,
so think how many of them are going to be wasted in the next break.
If the issue of color changes is really not new,
this comes practically from the time of the Greeks,
What is different about the technology that we use?
What is different is that we can now adapt it to another technology
that you do have, such as a cell phone.
What is the difference?
That now these bugs allow us to obtain an image,
calculate a color intensity,
pass that color intensity to a number,
And also I can send that number anywhere in the world
with a text message.
And then, in this way, you can imagine
very quickly, that within a very short time
You will not need to go to the doctor.
In fact, there are a lot of programs in the world of remote medicine
that work very well
Nor is going to need to go to the biochemist,
because now the chips, as they are made of paper,
I can put them in an envelope and send them by mail.
And you’re not going to need to go to the pharmacy either,
because if this works well,
that information can be centralized,
and the doctor simply sends them home what they need.
We believe that this technology,
together with cell phones,
not only will it dramatically shorten the time between diagnosis and treatment,
but it will greatly improve the quality of patient care.
Well, what patients?
When we started working on this topic,
something like 5 or 6 years ago,
and we set out to design a device
that would allow us to measure nitrites in saliva.
Why nitrites?
Because nitrites are a marker of inflammation.
And then, with a chip,
that is worth a peso,
which is stable at room temperature for one month,
that requires only a drop of saliva
and that can be measured with a common scanner,
I can not only provide oral health
to a lot of people who would not otherwise have it,
but I can also allow a dentist
that, without looking at a lot of patients,
classify them very, very quickly.
How does this story continue?
Well, in the last 5 or 6 years,
we have made a lot of these chips,
and we have solved a large number of the problems that this technology had.
In fact, we have implemented a detection system
that no longer requires color measurement,
and today we already have a chip
that is entirely made of paper,
even the electrodes for detection;
that can measure tumor markers,
and that you can also measure them in the correct clinical range.
The other good news
is that there are a lot of people working on this topic.
And then, these paper chips
have been applied, for example, to the detection of pollutants,
or to quality control of drugs.
As this technology grows,
we are convinced that in the next 10 or 20 years
You are going to be able to measure your own tumor markers
in the living room of your home and simply
Send the results to the doctor with a text message.
The bad news, unfortunately,
is that the technology is already very cheap,
and it’s hard to find people who want to be involved
in a relatively complex project
with profit margins that are relatively small.
At this point you already realize that the technology is here
and it’s very simple,
and that also allows us to answer relatively complex questions,
particularly linked to the field of biochemistry.
And then, at this point,
we should start thinking about other things,
like, for example, if we really are
or we are willing to belong to a health system
that each time depends less on personal interaction with the doctor,
but that will allow me to follow much better each one of you.
I also have to think
what kind of information do I want to share with a text message,
with whom I want to share
and what legal framework is needed to implement
so that this information is used correctly.
Those of us here,
we have to think also what educational changes
it is necessary to implement
so that someone who enters the Faculty of Medical Sciences today
or Chemical Sciences
be an active participant in the development of this technology
and do not end up being an end user.
Like little,
we also have to think
what changes need to be implemented in health systems
so that governments, not only the present, but those that come,
be able to integrate people like all of us
to what we call personalized medicine.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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