BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
Blood tests are an important diagnostic tool for diagnosing disorders and monitoring health, but the procedure is not enjoyable; It is typically painful and time-consuming. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder invented a novel handheld gadget that promises to change that by providing speedier findings from a single drop of blood, potentially revolutionizing blood diagnostics.
Traditionally, blood tests involve drawing a sample from the arm using a needle and sending it to a laboratory for analysis. Depending on the test’s complexity, this process can take anywhere from several hours to days. In rapidly changing health circumstances, this wait can be devastating. Additionally, many patients feel pain or even dread during blood draws. However, with this new technology, results might be acquired in as little as one hour, thanks to a simple finger prick.
The handheld diagnostic gadget uses what the researchers refer to as functional negative acoustic contrast particles (fNACPs). When put into a blood sample, these cell-sized particles interact with sound waves, collecting specific biomarkers such as proteins or viruses. Once mixed with the blood, the fNACPs capture the target biomarkers and then separate them using sound waves within the device. “We’re basically using sound waves to manipulate particles in order to rapidly isolate them from a really small volume of fluid,” said Cooper Thome, the study‘s first author.
The procedure is straightforward: combine a drop of blood with fNACPs and insert it into the handheld gadget. Sound waves then force the particles and biomarkers they’ve caught toward the chamber’s walls, leaving the rest of the blood sample behind. The biomarkers are then labeled with fluorescent markers and lit with lasers, allowing for an accurate count of their presence in the sample. In less than 70 minutes, the test can determine the number of certain biomarkers, providing answers with the same accuracy as traditional lab testing.
Innovative application of sound waves for medical testing
“This pipette and particle system can offer the same sensitivity and specificity as a gold-standard clinical test but within an instrument that radically simplifies workflows,” said Wyatt Shields, the senior author of the study. Shields highlights that this invention not only saves the time required for results but also allows blood diagnostics to be performed right at the patient’s bedside. The possibilities that this technology opens up are tremendous, particularly in emergency or distant circumstances when quick diagnostic information can save lives.
The technology is still in its early phases of development, but first testing has shown promise. The device was used by the researchers to detect antibodies to ovalbumin, a protein present in egg whites that is commonly utilized in vaccine manufacture. Even at low quantities, the device correctly recognized the antibodies, proving that it is just as effective as traditional laboratory tests.
Toward real-world uses
There are numerous possible uses for this technology. According to the researchers, the device has the potential to detect a wide range of biomarkers, including viral disorders and cancer indicators. Furthermore, the researchers are looking into techniques to test for several biomarkers using a single blood sample. “It gives us the potential to perform blood diagnostics right at the patient’s bedside,” Shields said.
While the technology is currently in its early stages, there is hope that it will be scaled up for clinical application in the future. The team is also looking at how to adapt the gadget to examine samples from numerous patients at the same time, which would increase its utility in healthcare settings where rapid diagnoses are in high demand.
The study, which appeared in the journal Science Advances, could be a huge step forward in tailored and quick healthcare diagnostics. While additional study is needed before the device can be widely adopted, its ability to improve patient care and minimize the stress associated with routine blood testing is evident.
Source study: Science Advances—Acoustic pipette and biofunctional elastomeric microparticle system for rapid picomolar-level biomolecule detection in whole blood
