Food contamination monitoring via internet of things, exemplified by using pocket-sized immunosensor as terminal unit

Abstract Healthcare via internet-of-things (IoT) for protection against consumption of contaminated foods was demonstrated via immuno-analysis of pathogenic bacteria and the sharing of results using a mobile device. As wireless internet has spread widely over the world, it can be readily used to communicate information related to, for example, human health. Indeed, some institutes have demonstrated the measurement of physical vital signals (e.g., temperature, pulse, and heartbeat) of the body for monitoring through a smartphone. However, biochemical analytes such as proteins and bacteria are currently difficult to measure based on antigen-antibody binding due to several technological barriers. Among them, the terminal unit of detection for, for instance, pathogens is mostly bulky, insensitive, or even expensive for sophisticated devices. We have studied the use of CMOS image sensor (CIS) for detecting the signal produced from an immuno-analytical system, which could resolve the detection issue hindering monitoring via IoT. In this study, an immunosensor system using CIS for detection means was fabricated to pocket-sized dimensions and then employed for determining a food-borne pathogen, the Vibrio species, in real samples. The analysis was controlled and monitored using a smartphone that was also used to upload the result as data to the internet server for sharing with the public. To our knowledge, this study could be the first exemplification of pathogen monitoring via IoT in the field of healthcare.