Harpur
Professor's Small Pump Has Big Potential
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C.J. Zhong hopes his "pumpless pump" will have
many useful applications.
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Fran C. doesn't like being interrupted. She was
in the middle of typing a research paper for her Philosophy
of Law class when her watch beeped at 4:00p.m., the third time
that day. Clicking "save," she heads to the sink to
meticulously wash her hands with antibacterial soap. She wipes
down her left index finger with an alcohol swab ("I'm right
handed," she explained), takes a "sharp" -- a
4 mm metal lancet -- out of a plastic envelope, and, without
flinching, stabs her finger hard enough to puncture the skin
and draw blood. With her free hand, Fran squeezes a small drop
of blood onto a test strip and places the strip in a portable
monitor that will tell her if she needs to stab herself again,
this time with a syringe of insulin. For Fran, the constant
interruptions are annoying, the injections are agonizing, and
checking her insulin throughout the day is "an emotional
roller coaster," but the routine has kept her alive since
her diagnosis of Type II Diabetes at the age of 7.
For Fran, the answer to her prayers
might just be a few buildings across campus. C.J. Zhong, associate
professor of Chemistry at Harpur College, and his research group,
comprised of undergraduates, graduate students, and a post-doctoral
researcher, are developing a low power electrically driven pumping
device that will be able to perform microfluidic analysis and
potentially remain in the body, constantly measure the need
for insulin, and deliver precise amounts.
Zhong has dubbed it a "pumpless
pump" because it lacks mechanical parts. A wire sends an
electrical voltage to fluid in a tiny column, which could be
as small as the diameter of a hair. The voltage causes the fluid
to move through the column, thereby simulating the action of
a pump. The pumping device will be the size of a computer chip,
perhaps as small as an adult's fingernail. It is made of a detector,
column filled with moving liquid, and an injector.
Here is how Zhong's "pumpless
pump" can potentially help a diabetic: the detector, a
tiny electrical wire, measures the body's insulin level. It
responds by electrically charging the fluid in the column to
make it move. The motion in the column triggers the injector
to supply the patient with more insulin from an external source.
The detector works constantly, eliminating the patient's need
for regular blood tests. Because less time has passed between
injections, insulin levels do not soar and surge as dramatically.
This tiny system works like a
thermostat: it takes a small sample, analyzes it, and tells
other machinery how act in response.
Zhong's pumping device will be
so small that doctors can insert it into the body, eliminating
the need for round-the-clock tests and injections. It will be
wireless, so the patient can wear a small battery pack to power
it.
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Working on Zhong's team
is part of a senior honors project for Laura Moussa `03.
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However, diabetics are not the
only ones who will benefit from this tiny pumping device. Every
small, closed environment can benefit from tiny equipment that
requires little fuel and produces no waste.
"For example, there's the
space shuttle," says Zhong, "If you want to analyze
the water quality, you can take as little a sample as possible.
If it's a long duration, the supply is going to run out and
the astronauts have to make sure the water is drinkable."
He says the pumping device can
even work via remote control, working where human hands can
not -- or should not reach. "One of the labs we're working
with on this project is interested in dealing with metal contaminants
from nuclear waste," said Zhong. "Their current technology
is to go in the field, take samples of contaminated soil, and
analyze them back in the lab. What we want to do is make remote
controllable portable chip devices that sit in the field."
Making lab machinery smaller and
more efficient is one of Zhong's chief goals. He cites the computer
as an example of something that has evolved from large and slow
to small and fast. "Look at the computer," he says,
"Twenty years ago, it was huge. Now it's tiny." He
hopes to create what he calls a "lab on a chip," by
shrinking down all of the machinery in a chemistry lab to the
size of computer chips.
Smaller equipment uses fewer resources
and creates less waste because less fuel is necessary. (Consider
the difference between a Mack Truck and a Volkswagen.) "Large
equipment typically generates waste, said Zhong, "but if
you use a miniature instrument, there's almost no waste."
For instance, because his new pump is so small, it runs on only
an electrical current supplied by a tiny battery. A conventional
pump could require the power of a generator, which needs gasoline
and emits toxic fumes as a byproduct.
His pumpless pump's advantage
is its design. "Mechanical parts need maintenance and repair,"
explained Zhong. "This is basically a fluid pumping mechanism,"
in other words, an electrical current is creating a pumping
motion by moving fluid through a channel. No need for lubrication,
repairs, or spare parts. This system is practically weightless,
especially compared to a conventional pump.
Right now, Zhong's invention is
still in the prototype state, but this "pumpless pump"
that is weightless, maintenance-free and implantable in the
human body is not too far off. "We are not there yet, but
this is going to take off very fast," he anticipates. Not
fast enough for Fran C. and other diabetics like her. She would
gladly trade her lancets, syringes, alcohol and vials of insulin
for a tiny internal sensor attached to an insulin pump. "For
something so small," she says, "it would be a huge
lifesaver."
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