Dr. Aurel Ymeti
The MIT Technology Review article A Fast, Sensitive Virus Detector: A sensor that measures the concentration of viruses in minutes could make possible a handheld device that cheaply and quickly spots pathogens said
Researchers at the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, have developed an ultrasensitive sensor that could potentially be used in a handheld device to, within minutes, detect various viruses and measure their concentration. The sensor could be used to quickly screen people at hospitals and emergency clinics to control outbreaks of diseases such as SARS and the bird flu. All it would take is a tiny sample of saliva, blood, or other body fluid.
Currently available methods to detect viruses are also sensitive. But they require laborious preparation of the fluid sample and only give results after several days. Since viral diseases can spread rapidly, researchers are looking for easier, faster ways to directly detect viruses. “You want a tool on which you apply the [fluid] sample on-site and in a few minutes say whether or not the person has the SARS virus,” says Aurel Ymeti, a postdoctoral researcher in biophysical engineering and the sensor’s lead developer.
Aurel Ymeti, PhD is a Postdoctoral Research
Fellow at the Biophysical Engineering Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology and BMTI Institute for Biomedical Technology of the University of Twente in Enschede,
The Netherlands.
Aurel was the principal developer
of an ultrasensitive sensor that could
potentially be used in a handheld device to, within minutes, detect various viruses
and measure their concentration. The sensor could be used to quickly screen
people at airports, hospitals, and emergency clinics. All it would take is a
tiny sample of saliva, blood, or other body
fluid. The attention this sensor has achieved in the international
scientific and nanotechnology community can be understood
in the light of recent serious virus outbreaks such as SARS
and H5N1
bird flu virus. Future viral outbreaks are a major threat to the societal and
economic development throughout the world. Therefore a rapid, sensitive, and
easy-to-use test for viral infections is essential to
prevent and to control such viral pandemics.
Furthermore, a compact, portable device is potentially very useful in remote or
developing regions without easy access to sophisticated laboratory facilities.
He is currently working on a
project for development of a point-of-care
diagnostic tool for staging HIV/AIDS
in resource-poor settings such as
His research interests include nanotechnology,
lab-on-a-chip
devices for biomedical applications, microfluidics,
and point-of-care instrumentation.
Aurel
coauthored Fast, Ultrasensitive Virus Detection Using a Young
Interferometer Sensor in Nano Letters, A single platform image cytometer for resource-poor
settings to monitor disease progression in HIV infection in Cytometry Part A, Drift
correction in a multichannel integrated optical Young interferometer
in Applied
Optics, Integration of microfluidics with a four-channel
integrated optical Young interferometer immunosensor in Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Realization
of a multichannel integrated Young interferometer chemical sensor
in Applied
Optics, and Development of a multichannel integrated
interferometer immunosensor in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
He earned
a MSc in Physics from the University of Tirana,
Read the MESA+
interview with Aurel Ymeti.