Let’s start at the beginning, what is Biosensing Team Twente?
Vinaya Tennakoon: ‘We are a group of students, similar to Solar Team Twente or Electric Superbike Twente, who apply their academic knowledge to develop a product. Biosensors, in our case. We compete with these in the SensUs healthcare competition in Eindhoven.’
Nour Hasnaoui: ‘We have several subteams: a board, of course, but also a chemistry subteam for the biomedical side, which I am part of, a business subteam that looks at how to build a business case, an electronics subteam for product development, and a marketing and communications team.’
And this year you are focussing on Parkinson’s…
Hasnaoui: ‘That’s right. Parkinson’s is a condition that affects the brain. To ease the symptoms, patients use medication such as levodopa. At the moment, patients still rely on occasional doctor visits, where the correct dosage is determined at that specific moment. It is just a snapshot. But it may have already changed an hour later, so it is important to monitor it continuously. A biosensor can make that possible.’
Tennakoon: ‘Doctors currently depend largely on patients’ descriptions to estimate the right dosage. With a biosensor, you get continuous, measurable data, which allows for more precise dosing. That makes the disease more manageable for patients, and helps reduce pressure on the Dutch healthcare system.’
What does the Parkinson’s biosensor look like?
Tennakoon: ‘We are still in development, but it could potentially be worn as a patch on the upper arm, similar to glucose monitors used by people with diabetes. We are also exploring how to link it to an app.’
Hasnaoui: ‘We are not there yet. The challenge is that you need to measure very precisely. On a chemical level, it is difficult to distinguish the medication from other molecules. There is a lot of interference, which makes measurements unreliable. We are working on improving that.’
Why are you raising awareness?
Tennakoon: ‘As a student, you mainly work from literature studies and small experiments, so everything can feel quite abstract. But through our work on biosensing, we came into contact with patients, heard their stories, and saw how urgent the need is. That really affected us.’
Hasnaoui: ‘Research also shows that the number of people with Parkinson’s is increasing, while healthcare is facing major staff shortages. That means patients cannot always see their doctor when they need to. It motivated us to go the extra mile. You suddenly realise what you are working towards. We are not just developing a gadget, we can actually improve people’s quality of life.’
What does the campaign look like?
Tennakoon: ‘Part of the competition already involves promoting our product on social media and asking people to vote for it. But we wanted to do more. Last Wednesday, we held a Toasti Talk in DesignLab and, we're trying to generate more media attention. We also want to host a knowledge session where we bring together research groups, patients, and companies.’
