Medical Sensing:

Michael D. Wheeler

Noninvasive medical sensors have been an enigma to many in the research and development sectors in recent years. So close to becoming viable, yet not close enough, they have inhabited the no manis land between the chalk board and the potentially lucrative medical market.
They face many obstacles -- both functional and economic -- in their effort for acceptance. It costs $30 million to $50 million to bring a fully diagnostic biosensor from research through clinical tests and finally to market, so researchers have been reluctant to target anything except applications that would generate substantial profits -- e.g., glucose sensing. As a result, the market is highly fragmented, and only a handful of sensors have found their way into todayis intensive care units and emergency rooms...