Project description
A wearable patch for continuous hormone monitoring
Oestrogen levels serve as indicators of reproductive health, cancer risk and mental health. Systematic monitoring of oestrogen is necessary for the management of infertility, hormone-dependent cancers and neurological conditions. However, current diagnostic methods require hospital visits and laboratory infrastructure, making regular monitoring impractical. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EstroPatch project aims to address these limitations through the development of a minimally invasive wearable sensor. The device utilises tiny microneedles to access fluid just beneath the skin for real-time oestrogen detection. By integrating microfluidics and wireless communication, the sensor is designed to facilitate continuous hormone monitoring for applications such as pregnancy tracking, menstrual cycle management and cancer treatment monitoring.
Objective
Estrogen monitoring is crucial across genders for tracking conditions like infertility (1 in 6 globally), breast/uterine cancers, postpartum depression, and schizophrenia. Endocrine cancers are rising in the EU (>100,000 neuroendocrine tumor cases, 60% at late stage), with endocrine-disrupting chemicals contributing significantly. Current estrogen monitoring methods are effective but invasive, hospital-based, and dependent on bulky instrumentation, making regular monitoring challenging. Therefore, there is a vital need to develop a highly sensitive, user-friendly wearable biosensing platform for continuous, on-site estrogen monitoring to ensure effective medical decision-making. Electrochemical biosensors offer high sensitivity and rapid response, making them ideal for wearable estrogen monitoring. Microneedle-based systems enable reliable, minimally invasive hormone detection through direct access to dermal interstitial fluid. This proposal aims to develop, for the first time, EstroPatch—a wearable patch for real-time, continuous monitoring of estrone, estradiol, and estriol levels in dermal interstitial fluid by integrating microneedles, electrochemical sensing, microfluidics, and wireless communication. This will address the current lack of microneedle-integrated systems for estrogen detection. In this project, I propose a multiplexed estrogen monitoring system spanning 0.1–5000 pg/mL using electrochemical sensing with optimized detection and quantitation limits. By integrating microneedles, I aim to develop EstroPatch as a pain-free, easy-to-use, and cost-effective solution for applications such as pregnancy monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking, and cancer treatment.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors biosensors
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology biosensing
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics postnatal care
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3000 Leuven
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.