Source: Northeastern University College of Engineering; research by Josep Jornet (Northeastern University) (November 5, 2026). AI-generated summary by biochip.com, published . Not independently reviewed.
Key takeaways
- Northeastern professor Josep Jornet was awarded a patent for an implantable biosensor and communication node with a plasmonic nano-antenna.
- The design links biomarker receipt to a change in emitted light and can encode an optical signal for transmission to another node.
- The patent description does not report a specific biomarker, performance measurements, or tests in a living body.
Northeastern University electrical engineering professor Josep Jornet has been awarded a patent for an implantable biosensor designed to detect biomarkers and send information to a separate communication node. The device uses light and a nanoscale optical antenna to register whether a biomarker is present. Its design combines sensing with a way to transmit the resulting signal, although the patent description does not report tests in people or measurements of the device’s performance.
How the biosensor detects a biomarker
Think of the device’s optical signal as a color-coded message: a change in the light can indicate whether a target has been detected. The biosensor’s light source shines on a plasmonic nano-antenna, a tiny structure that interacts with light, and the antenna emits light with a characteristic spectral signature, or pattern of wavelengths.
A bio-functionalized element attached to the antenna can receive a biomarker, if one is present. That interaction changes the light’s spectral signature, allowing the device to distinguish receipt from nonreceipt of the biomarker. The patent abstract does not identify a specific biomarker.
Sending the signal beyond the implant
The antenna and light source can also encode an optical communication signal into the emitted light and transmit it to a separate communication node. In this design, the light that participates in sensing can also carry a message about the sensor’s state.
The patent also describes an optional detector that can read the emitted light and produce an output indicating whether the biomarker was received. That information can then be encoded in the communication signal for reporting to another node.
What the patent establishes
The patent, titled “Implantable biosensor and communication node with plasmonic nano-antenna,” describes a device architecture for combining biomarker detection and optical communication. Jornet is identified as an electrical and computer engineering professor and associate dean for research at Northeastern University.
A patent describes protected technology, but it does not by itself show that a device has been built, validated, or tested in a living body. The description does not provide a target biomarker, detection limits, implant lifetime, or results from experiments.
Why This Matters
For an implantable sensor, detecting a biological signal is only part of the challenge: information must also reach a receiver outside or elsewhere in the system. This design outlines one approach, using light both to register a biomarker-related change and to carry a signal to another communication node.
The next key questions are practical ones: whether the proposed components can operate together in an implant, how reliably they detect a chosen biomarker, and how the signal reaches its intended receiver. The patent announcement does not report answers to those questions.
Topics: Biosensors · Diagnostics & precision medicine
Start here: Biosensors explained
Related articles
- Antibody-detecting resistive biosensor for protein biomarkers
- From Device-Level Implementation to In-Sensor Computing in Memristive-Device-Based Biosensors: A Review
- Microfluidic biosensors for biomarker detection in body fluids: a key approach for early cancer diagnosis
- Microfluidic Impedance Biosensor Chips Using Sensing Layers Based on DNA-Based Self-Assembled Monolayers for Label-Free Detection of Proteins