SBIR-STTR Award

Urine testing is an effective method for routine health monitoring. Spectroscopy-based urine test offers a highly sensitive and accurate urine test method with much less clinical lab equipment requirement. Existing spectroscopy urine test systems are still bulky, heavy, costly, and with high power consumption and thus not suitable for astronaut health monitoring in space. Photonics integrated circuits (PIC) can integrate numerous photonics devices with a great variety of functionalities in a single ultra-small chip, offering ultra-high performance with extremely low power consumption and significantly improved reliability. This STTR project aims to leverage the advantages provided by cutting-edge PIC technologies and develop a miniature on-chip urine test system with significantly reduced size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) and improved reliability for routine astronaut health monitoring. In phase, I, the proposed PIC-enabled on-chip urine test system will be evaluated and compared with existing technologies. Optimal design of the PIC based broadband spectroscopic urine test system with high performance and ultra-low SWaP will be obtained. In Phase II, a prototype of the miniature PIC-based broadband spectroscopic urine test system with ultra-low SWaP will be developed and tested. Urine testing with high sensitivity and high accuracy will be demonstrated. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) The PIC-based on chip urine test system enables high sensitivity and high reliability urine test with significantly reduced SWaP suitable for space missions. It provides a portable clinical analysis tool for routine astronaut health monitoring with high sensitivity and high accuracy. The on-chip spectroscopy material measurement method can also be used other NASA applications such as water quality monitoring, lab on a chip experiment in space, and space fuel quality measurement. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) Portable clinic urine test, blood glucose measurement, and routine health check, etc. portable high spectral resolution chemical and biological solution analysis for chemical solution identification and contamination analysis. High spectral definition IR spectroscopy in a liquid phase. Medical diagnoses, chemical solution process control, and drug monitoring.

For this STTR Phase II project, Applied NanoFemto Technologies (ANFT) and MIT aim to develop a prototype of a miniature urine test system and extend its application to more general applications in testing and screening. In Phase I of the project, we have designed and optimized the on-chip digital Fourier Transform spectrometer (dFT) technology for the SWIR spectrum test system, developed the light coupling technologies, and refined the SWIR LED and photodetector growth parameters. The waveguide design and coupling simulation as well as the SWIR LED and photodetector development has demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed PIC-based chip-scale urine test platform. In Phase II, we will develop a prototype of the miniature PIC-based broadband spectroscopic urine test system with ultra-low SWaP, high sensitivity and high accuracy will be demonstrated. Clinical application and extension to the COVID-19 diagnostic test will be explored as well. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) Routine astronaut health monitoring Water quality monitoring: The on-chip spectral analysis system enables high spectral definition water analysis that can provide data for continuous monitoring of the recycled drinking water quality in space stations. Lab on a chip experiment in space: The system can provide on-chip spectral analysis for lab-on-a-chip microfluidic analysis with low SWaP suitable for space applications. Space fuel quality and contamination monitoring. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) Portable clinical urine test, blood glucose measurement, and routine health check. Portable high spectral resolution chemical and biological solution analysis for chemical solution identification and contamination analysis. Medical diagnoses, chemical solution process control, and drug monitoring. Fast Covid-19 diagnostic testing with high sensitivity