SensUs is a project of the Molecular Health Sensors Challenge honors track, supervised by Professor Menno Prins. For the sixteen students taking on the organization, setting up the competition coincides with the honors track they’ll be doing in their second and third year.

Five teams will be allowed to register for the first edition, coming from KU Leuven, Imperial College in London, the University of Uppsala in Sweden, Danish Technical University, and TU/e. The organizing team will not be participating for the first edition.

Teams are required to develop a biosensor that is able to detect a specific biomarker (a molecule that contains information about diseases or health) in blood, urine, or saliva, for example. Which biomarker the teams will be searching for exactly, and where, won’t be revealed until January 4: only then will the biosensors specs be made available to the teams.

Supervisor Menno Prins is a professor of Molecular Biosensors for Medical Diagnostics, and a biosensor expert. He hopes that as the area of expertise develops, the goals of the competition will be adjusted as well. “Just imagine participants twenty years from now building a sensor that can be integrated into a drip, so it can detect possible inflammation or cardiac damage right away.”

TU/e students who want to join the very first SensUs competition can register through the website.