18 Aug Using a Smartphone As a Portable Laboratory Is Closer Than We Think
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ken Long
Ken Long, MD/PhD student
Department of Bioengineering
Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Traditional laboratory-based spectrometers are a mainstay of clinical diagnostics. In our recent Lab on a Chip article we sought to produce a handheld device that would be able to perform three broad classes of spectrometric tests that one might normally do in a laboratory (Transmission-based, Reflection-based, and Intensity-based) on a smartphone-based handheld device that could be used at the point-of-care.
Using high-resolution 3D printing, a custom optical fiber, and some off-the-shelf lenses, we were able to design, assemble, and demonstrate a device capable of reproducing results of traditional benchtop equipment when measuring results from commercially-available tests. The device is small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, cost less than $550 to build the prototype, and has the ability to read multiple tests using the video-capture capabilities of the smartphone and a swiping motion with liquid test cartridges, much like swiping a credit card through a reader. The two tests demonstrated in the paper were for a biomarker associated with pre-term birth in pregnant women, and a PKU test for newborns that can defect a critical nutritional enzyme deficiency.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: The future is closer than we may think. Many point-of-care devices are already entering the market for specific tests. Here we seek to investigate the next step—a portable point-of-care laboratory instrument capable of performing any number of already-developed tests. The natural benefits of a smartphone—it’s ubiquity, interconnectedness, and high-quality imaging capabilities—make it a perfect tool to miniaturize and portablized low-cost diagnostic instruments. With literally thousands of compatible tests, ranging from water quality to veterinary medicine, to human health, nutrition, crop health, commercial equipment validation, etc., the technology is ripe for partnering with companies who wish to develop preliminary usage cases.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: There are a myriad of possible usage cases for such a device. Developing the liquid-handling components of many of these commercially-available tests to be better suited for point-of-care contexts is an important area for further development.
Similarly, scaling up the fabrication process and partnering with other laboratories and companies to further develop the instrument will be exciting avenues we look forward to exploring in depth.
Disclosures: Funding sources are reported in the article, and include both the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Contact information for Brian Cunningham : [email protected]
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation: Multimode smartphone biosensing: the transmission, reflection, and intensity spectral (TRI)-analyzer
Kenneth D. Long,a Elizabeth V. Woodburn,a Huy M. Le,bc Utsav K. Shah,d Steven S. Lumettabc and Brian T. Cunningham
Lab Chip, 2017, Advance Article DOI10.1039/C7LC00633K
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
[wysija_form id=”5″]
Last Updated on August 18, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD