Biosensor Applications and Trends 2016
Biosensor is a fast growing industry. It used to be applied only in the medical field but now it’s being used as an IoT device employed by every industry by everyone.
Biosensor industry is expected to reach 22.68 billion by 2020 whereas it was only valued at 11.39 billion in 2013. The industry had doubled in 7 years and it shows no signs of stopping as this is just starting. There have been significant technological advancements over the last few years, due to increasing awareness of environmental monitoring, rapid pathogen detection, and new discovery of detection techniques especially in medicine, medical treatment, food & agriculture safety and defense industry.
The possibility of biosensor is endless. Imagine if you can scan a leaf or the root a plant and have data shown in your smartphone exactly what it is or prevent cancer by detecting it at the early stage through saliva or sweat. Many startups and large companies are putting more resources in R & D, combining big data and nanotechnology, to further meet the accelerate industry demand.
In simple terms, biosensor is made up of a transducer and a living organism or biological molecules, especially enzymes or antibodies. Its biological element acts as a sensor and electrical component is used to detect and transmit the signal.
There are many ways to detect things, most common types of biotransducer include electrochemical, optical, thermal, piezoelectric. The electrochemical biosensors currently dominate the segment with about 70% share globally with portable POC (Point of care) diagnostic devices such as the glucose monitoring systems. Optical technology is second and it’s the fastest growing segment right now with many researching on environmental issues like pollution control, water quality, etc.
Companies are experimenting the usage of biosensor into different substrates, DNA, smart textile, automobile and the possibilities are really endless.
Check out biosensor startup for more information on latest technology.
