Dr. Tueng Shen, a UW Medicine eye surgeon and bioengineer, is helping design a tiny wireless sensor that could monitor the body for signs of disease in tears. The sensor would be placed in a tear drain and would monitor tear fluid for biomarkers linked to disease. The project is funded through ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal office focused on health innovation. The design is based on a plug commonly placed in the eye’s lower puncta, or tear drain, as a therapy for dry eye. The device would be manufactured using 3D-printing techniques developed by Northwestern University.