Wearable Sensors for Monitoring of Levodopa in Parkinson’s Disease

In this project a wearable skin sensor is developed to monitor the levodopa plasma concentration to obtain a stable drug concentration and relieve Parkinson’s patients from their symptoms. Parkinson’s is caused by a loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain’s basal ganglia.

The resulting dopamine deficit can be treated by administrating the dopamine precursor levodopa. However, as the disease progresses, patients start fluctuating between being well-treated and having symptoms due to variations in drug plasma concentration which comes along with the intermittent oral intake of the drug as a tablet. The quality of life for Parkinson’s patients can therefore be improved by precision dosing of levodopa to obtain a stable plasma plateau.