Point-of-Care Diagnostic Systems

The transmission of Tuberculosis (TB) is very rapid and the burden it places on health care systems is felt globally. The effective management and prevention of this disease requires that it is detected early. Current TB diagnostic approaches, such as the culture, sputum smear, skin tuberculin, and molecular tests are time-consuming, and some are unaffordable for low-income countries. Rapid tests for disease biomarker detection are mostly based on immunological assays that use antibodies which are costly to produce, have low sensitivity and stability. Aptamers can replace antibodies in these diagnostic tests for the development of new rapid tests that are more cost effective; more stable at high temperatures and therefore have a better shelf life; do not have batch-to-batch variations, and thus more consistently bind to a specific target with similar or higher specificity and selectivity and are therefore more reliable. Advancements in TB research, in particular the application of proteomics to identify TB specific biomarkers, led to the identification of a number of biomarker proteins, that can be used to develop aptamer-based diagnostic assays able to screen individuals at the point-of-care (POC) more efficiently in resource-limited settings.

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Using a dual antibody point-of-care test with visual and digital reads to diagnose syphilis among people living with HIV in Botswana

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/0956462420975639 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095646242097563

Author(s):

Irfaan Maan ◽

David S Lawrence ◽

Nametso Tlhako ◽

Kehumile Ramontshonyana ◽

Aamirah Mussa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Day Treatment ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Kappa Statistic ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Diagnostic Systems ◽

Hiv Viral Load ◽

Past Infection ◽

Middle Income ◽

Visual Reading ◽

Active Syphilis

Syphilis data from low- and middle-income countries are lacking due to limited testing. Point-of-care tests (POCTs) have been promoted to expand testing but previously only included treponemal tests, which cannot distinguish active from past infection. We aimed to assess the feasibility of using a combined treponemal and non-treponemal POCT in HIV clinic patients in Gaborone, Botswana, and estimate syphilis prevalence in our clinic sample using this approach. We recruited 390 non-pregnant patients. Participants underwent a combined treponemal and non-treponemal POCT (Dual Path Platform (DPP®) Syphilis Screen and Confirm Assay (Chembio Diagnostic Systems)) on finger-prick blood sample and a questionnaire. Median age 45 years, 30% men, median CD4 count 565 cells/μL, and 91% had an HIV viral load <400 copies/mL. Five participants had active syphilis (1.3%, 95% CI 0.5–3.0%) and 64 had previous syphilis (16.4%, 95% CI 13.0–20.4%) using the DPP POCT. There was a reasonable level of agreement between digital and visual reading of the POCT (kappa statistic of 0.81); however, visual reading missed three active infections (60%). The level of active syphilis was similar to local antenatal data. The DPP POCT led to five participants with active syphilis being diagnosed and starting same-day treatment. The digital reader should be used.

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Image enhancement variational methods for enabling strong cost reduction in OLED-based point-of-care immunofluorescent diagnostic systems

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering ◽

10.1002/cnm.2932 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. e2932 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

D. Lazzaro ◽

S. Morigi ◽

P. Melpignano ◽

E. Loli Piccolomini ◽

L. Benini

Keyword(s):

Variational Methods ◽

Image Enhancement ◽

Cost Reduction ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Diagnostic Systems

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Towards wearable sleep diagnostic systems for point-of-care applications

2013 IEEE Point-of-Care Healthcare Technologies (PHT) ◽

10.1109/pht.2013.6461276 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mohan K Rajagopal ◽

Esther Rodriguez-Villegas

Keyword(s):

Point Of Care ◽

Diagnostic Systems

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Point-of-care molecular diagnostic systems — past, present and future

Current Opinion in Microbiology ◽

10.1016/j.mib.2005.08.001 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 504-509 ◽

Cited By ~ 112

Author(s):

Carol A Holland ◽

Frederick L Kiechle

Keyword(s):

Point Of Care ◽

Molecular Diagnostic ◽

Diagnostic Systems

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POINT-OF-CARE (POC) DEVICES – A NEW TREND IN BIOMEDICAL DEVICE

BIOTECHNOLOGY: STATE OF THE ART AND PERSPECTIVES ◽

10.37747/2312-640x-2021-19-187-189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (19) ◽

pp. 187-189

Author(s):

G.E. Rudnitskaya ◽

T.A. Lukashenko ◽

A.A. Evstrapov

Keyword(s):

Point Of Care ◽

Polymeric Materials ◽

Diagnostic Systems ◽

Biomedical Device

Microchip devices made of glass, silicon, polymeric materials have been designed and tested for use in Point-of- Care diagnostic systems for biomedical purposes.

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Assessment of the Deformability and Velocity of Healthy and Artificially Impaired Red Blood Cells in Narrow Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Microchannels

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi9080384 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 384 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Liliana Boas ◽

Vera Faustino ◽

Rui Lima ◽

João Miranda ◽

Graça Minas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Image Analysis ◽

Red Blood Cells ◽

Blood Cells ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Diagnostic Techniques ◽

Diagnostic Systems ◽

High Concentration ◽

Analysis Techniques ◽

Crucial Information ◽

Image Analysis Techniques

Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in underdeveloped regions. Thus, the development of rapid, efficient, and competitive diagnostic techniques is essential. This work reports a study of the deformability and velocity assessment of healthy and artificially impaired red blood cells (RBCs), with the purpose of potentially mimicking malaria effects, in narrow polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. To obtain impaired RBCs, their properties were modified by adding, to the RBCs, different concentrations of glucose, glutaraldehyde, or diamide, in order to increase the cells’ rigidity. The effects of the RBCs’ artificial stiffening were evaluated by combining image analysis techniques with microchannels with a contraction width of 8 µm, making it possible to measure the cells’ deformability and velocity of both healthy and modified RBCs. The results showed that healthy RBCs naturally deform when they cross the contractions and rapidly recover their original shape. In contrast, for the modified samples with high concentration of chemicals, the same did not occur. Additionally, for all the tested modification methods, the results have shown a decrease in the RBCs’ deformability and velocity as the cells’ rigidity increases, when compared to the behavior of healthy RBCs samples. These results show the ability of the image analysis tools combined with microchannel contractions to obtain crucial information on the pathological blood phenomena in microcirculation. Particularly, it was possible to measure the deformability of the RBCs and their velocity, resulting in a velocity/deformability relation in the microchannel. This correlation shows great potential to relate the RBCs’ behavior with the various stages of malaria, helping to establish the development of new diagnostic systems towards point-of-care devices.

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Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Frontiers in Nanotechnology ◽

10.3389/fnano.2020.589832 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Ritika Gupta ◽

Poonam Sagar ◽

Nitesh Priyadarshi ◽

Sunaina Kaul ◽

Rajat Sandhir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Point Of Care ◽

Resonance Energy Transfer ◽

Resonance Energy ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Diagnostic Techniques ◽

Localized Surface Plasmon ◽

Diagnostic Tools ◽

Diagnostic Systems ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Low Sensitivity

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a pandemic has been validated as an extreme clinical calamity and has affected several socio-economic activities globally. Proven transmission of this virus occurs through airborne droplets from an infected person. The recent upsurge in the number of infected individuals has already exceeded the number of intensive care beds available to patients. These extraordinary circumstances have elicited the need for the development of diagnostic tools for the detection of the virus and, hence, prevent the spread of the disease. Early diagnosis and effective immediate treatment can reduce and prevent an increase in the number of cases. Conventional methods of detection such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and chest computed tomography scans have been used extensively for diagnostic purposes. However, these present several challenges, including prolonged assay requirements, labor-intensive testing, low sensitivity, and unavailability of these resources in remote locations. Such challenges urgently require fast, sensitive, and accurate diagnostic techniques for the timely detection and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. Point-of-care biosensors that include paper- and chip-based diagnostic systems are rapid, cost-effective, and user friendly. In this article nanotechnology-based potential biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis are discussed with particular emphasis on a lateral flow assay, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based biosensor, a localized surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor, Förster resonance energy transfer, an electrochemical biosensor, and artificial intelligence-based biosensors. Several biomolecules, such as nucleic acids, antibodies/enzymes, or aptamers, can serve as potential detection molecules on an appropriate platform, such as graphene oxide, nanoparticles, or quantum dots. An effective biosensor can be developed by using appropriate combinations of nanomaterials and technologies.

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