Photo by Daniel Sone
Researchers say they’ve developed a simple technique for diagnosing and monitoring sickle cell disease (SCD) that could be used in regions where advanced medical technology and training are scarce.
The team created a 3D-printed box that can be attached to an Android smartphone and used to test a small blood sample.
The testing method involves magnetic levitation, which allows the user to differentiate sickle cells from normal red blood cells with the naked eye.
Savas Tasoglu, PhD, of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and his colleagues described this technique in Nature Scientific Reports.
First, a clinician takes a blood sample from a patient and mixes it with a common, salt-based solution that draws oxygen out of sickle cells, making them denser and easier to detect via magnetic levitation. The denser sickle cells will float at a lower height than healthy red blood cells, which are not affected by the solution.
The sample is then loaded into a disposable micro-capillary that is inserted into the tester attached to the smartphone. Inside the testing apparatus, the micro-capillary passes between 2 magnets that are aligned so that the same poles face each other, creating a magnetic field.
The capillary is then illuminated with an LED that is filtered through a ground glass diffuser and magnified by an internal lens.
The smartphone’s built-in camera captures the resulting image and presents it digitally on the phone’s external display. The blood cells floating inside the capillary—whether higher-floating healthy red blood cells or lower-floating sickle cells—can be easily observed.
The device also provides clinicians with a digital readout that assigns a numerical value to the sample density to assist with the diagnosis. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes.
“With this device, you’re getting much more specific information about your cells than some other tests,” said Stephanie Knowlton, a graduate student at the University of Connecticut.
“Rather than sending a sample to a lab and waiting 3 days to find out if you have this disease, with this device, you get on-site and portable results right away. We believe a device like this could be very helpful in third-world countries where laboratory resources may be limited.”
Dr Tasoglu’s lab has filed a provisional patent for the device and is working on expanding its capabilities so it can be applied to other diseases.
