Recent advances in biomedical, biosensor and clinical measurement devices for use in humans and the potential application of these technologies for the study of physiology and disease in wild animals

Abstract

The goal of achieving enhanced diagnosis and continuous monitoring of human health has led to a vibrant, dynamic and well-funded field of research in medical sensing and biosensor technologies. The field has many sub-disciplines which focus on different aspects of sensor science; engaging engineers, chemists, biochemists and clinicians, often in interdisciplinary teams. The trends which dominate include the efforts to develop effective point of care tests and implantable/wearable technologies for early diagnosis and continuous monitoring. This review will outline the current state of the art in a number of relevant fields, including device engineering, chemistry, nanoscience and biomolecular detection, and suggest how these advances might be employed to develop effective systems for measuring physiology, detecting infection and monitoring biomarker status in wild animals. Special consideration is also given to the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance and in the light of the current SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, zoonotic infections. Both of these areas involve significant crossover between animal and human health and are therefore well placed to seed technological developments with applicability to both human and animal health and, more generally, the reviewed technologies have significant potential to find use in the measurement of physiology in wild animals. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part II)’.

Diving physiology of marine mammals and birds: the development of biologging techniques

“…Much like the P O 2 and the NIRS cerebral oxygen sensors described above, many advances in sensor technology will probably come from sensors developed for human health, including wearable biosensors. Macdonald A et al [149] review recent advances in medical sensing and biosensors in this issue. Finally, the most important advance for expanding diving physiology studies may lie in the continued development of new, non-invasive approaches that can be used in a wide variety of species and by a large number of investigators.…”

Future trends in measuring physiology in free-living animals

“…Since the first pioneering studies in the late 1930s [7], the field of physiologging has been transformed by significant advances in the miniaturization of sensor technology [26], in on-board memory capacity, and in power demand, management and supply [27,28]. The earliest biologging devices [29,30] were large film time-depth recorders (TDR) deployed on seals.…”

“…Promising future solutions also include physiologically sensitive skin 'tattoo' biosensors (e.g. [27,65,66]), the colour of which reflects biochemical changes (e.g. in pH or glucose) and can be recorded via imaging devices.…”

“…R. Soc. B 376: 20200230 sampling devices (for example, that could collect circulating serum samples) have been developed for diving seals [94], and with further refinement could yield considerable gains for discovering the temporal variation in such compounds, as well as the promise of wearable analytical devices [27].…”

Introduction to the theme issue: Measuring physiology in free-living animals

“…Owing to the recent and rapid development of physiologging technologies, it is currently possible to monitor fine-scale physiological changes in free-living animals not only with custommade biologging devices [43], but also with state-of-the-art miniaturized commercial technologies developed for use in humans [44] or for farmed terrestrial and aquatic animals (e.g. dairy cattle [45,46] and fishes [47,48]).…”