The Universidade da Coruña (UDC) is part of the European SENSOPAD project through the NANOSELF group of the Interdisciplinary Center for Chemistry and Biology (CICA), an initiative focused on creating new tools capable of identifying early signs of endometriosis by studying menstrual flow.
As explained by the UDC in a statement, endometriosis affects around one in ten women of reproductive age worldwide. Despite this high incidence, it remains an underdiagnosed and complex pathology to detect.
In the same note, the institution emphasizes that the average period to achieve a diagnosis is 7.5 years from the appearance of the first symptoms, although in numerous cases the delay can reach up to ten years.
To address this situation, the project integrates two complementary technologies. The first is a smart pad designed to identify proteins linked to endometriosis directly during menstruation and alert the user to the possible presence of signs of the disease.
The second technology, called "sensoMFgFET," consists of a portable graphene-based device that can detect biomarkers present in menstrual samples with very high sensitivity. This equipment uses chemically modified field-effect transistors to recognize specific endometriosis biomarkers and convert them into a measurable electrical signal.
"The project does not aim to replace medical diagnosis, but simply to offer tools that allow patients to be more quickly directed towards specialized clinical evaluation," it concluded.