Impedance biosensor for real-time monitoring and prediction of thrombotic individual profile in flowing blood

Abstract

A new biosensor for the real-time analysis of thrombus formation is reported. The fast and accurate monitoring of the individual thrombotic risk represents a challenge in cardiovascular diagnostics and in treatment of hemostatic diseases. Thrombus volume, as representative index of the related thrombotic status, is usually estimated with confocal microscope at the end of each in vitro experiment, without providing a useful behavioral information of the biological sample such as platelets adhesion and aggregation in flowing blood. Our device has been developed to work either independently or integrated with the microscopy system; thus, images of the fluorescently labeled platelets are acquired in real-time during the whole blood perfusion, while the global electrical impedance of the blood sample is simultaneously monitored between a pair of specifically designed gold microelectrodes. Fusing optical and electrical data with a novel technique, the dynamic of thrombus formation events in flowing blood can be reconstructed in real-time, allowing an accurate extrapolation of the three-dimensional shape and the spatial distribution of platelet thrombi forming and growing within artificial capillaries. This biosensor is accurate and it has been used to discriminate different hemostatic conditions and to identify weakening and detaching platelet aggregates. The results obtained appear compatible with those quantified with the traditional optical method. With advantages in terms of small size, user-friendliness and promptness of response, it is a promising device for the fast and automatic individual health monitoring at the Point of Care (POC).

Fast blood impedance measurements as quality indicators in the pre-analytical phase to prevent laboratory errors

“…Measurements for the characterization of whole blood dynamic behavior in artificial micro-channels have been presented using electrical impedance spectroscopy, as described in [13]- [17], by using an impedance meter and a low-cost sensor based on printed circuit board technology. With regard to the characterization of single blood components, this challenge is still open and has not yet been settled by a single multimeasurement sensor.…”

Kinetics of platelet adhesion to a fibrinogen‐coated surface in whole blood under flow conditions

“…Microfluidic assays and new biosensors are alternatives that may provide more accurate evaluation of platelet adhesion to surfaces under flow conditions 13‐17 . De Zanet et al introduced a new biosensor for the real‐time analysis of blood thrombus formation under flow conditions 18 . It is based on measuring the global electrical impedance of the blood sample between a pair of specifically designed gold microelectrodes placed on a collagen‐coated surface.…”

“…[13][14][15][16][17] De Zanet et al introduced a new biosensor for the real-time analysis of blood thrombus formation under flow conditions. 18 It is based on measuring the global electrical impedance of the blood sample between a pair of specifically designed gold microelectrodes placed on a collagen-coated surface. However, this technique possesses significant inaccuracy in evaluation of blood clot formation because of the a priori presumption of characteristics that describe the relationship between the growing clot and the magnitude of its impedance, which significantly influences the detected signal.…”

Application of Linear Gradient Magnetic Field in Arterial Profile Scanning Imaging

“…In recent years, electromagnetic imaging technology for medical diagnosis has made great progress, and many novel imaging technologies have emerged, such as electrical impedance tomography, magnetic acoustic tomography, magneto-acousto-electrical tomography, magnetic induction tomography, thermoacoustic tomography, and so on [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Dr. Ruben Specogna and Dr. Antonio Affanni et al effectively fused optical and impedance data and proposed novel biosensor and inversion technology for monitoring and predicting thrombosis characteristics, which provided a new idea for electromagnetic arterial blood flow imaging [ 16 , 17 ]. In 2016, Dr. Ali of The University of Huddersfield verified the linear relationship between electrode potential difference signal and blood flow under a uniform magnetic field through numerical simulation and experiment [ 18 ], which greatly promoted the research progress of the electromagnetic non-invasive blood flow measurement method.…”