Emerging biomedical sensing technologies and their applications

Recent progress in biomedical sensing technologies has resulted in the development of several novel sensor products and new applications. Modern biomedical sensors developed with advanced microfabrication and signal processing techniques are becoming inexpensive, accurate, and reliable. A broad range of sensing mechanisms has significantly increased the number of possible target measurands that can be detected. The miniaturization of classical "bulky" measurement techniques has led to the realization of complex analytical systems, including such sensors as the BioChemLab-on-a-Chip. This rapid progress in miniature devices and instrumentation development will significantly impact the practice of medical care as well as future advances in the biomedical industry. Currently, electrochemical, optical, and acoustic wave sensing technologies have emerged as some of the most promising biomedical sensor technologies. In this paper, important features of these technologies, along with new developments and some of the applications, are presented.