Sample to answer visualization pipeline for low-cost point-of-care blood cell counting

Abstract

We present a visualization pipeline from sample to answer for point-of-care blood cell counting applications. Effective and low-cost point-of-care medical diagnostic tests provide developing countries and rural communities with accessible healthcare solutions [1], and can be particularly beneficial for blood cell count tests, which are often the starting point in the process of diagnosing a patient [2].The initial focus of this work is on total white and red blood cell counts, using a microfluidic cartridge [3] for sample processing. Analysis of the processed samples has been implemented by means of two main optical visualization systems developed in-house: 1) a fluidic operation analysis system using high speed video data to determine volumes, mixing efficiency and flow rates, and 2) a microscopy analysis system to investigate homogeneity and concentration of blood cells. Fluidic parameters were derived from the optical flow [4] as well as color-based segmentation of the different fluids using a hue-saturation-value (HSV) color space. Cell count estimates were obtained using automated microscopy analysis and were compared to a widely accepted manual method for cell counting using a hemocytometer [5].The results using the first iteration microfluidic device [3] showed that the most simple -and thus low-cost -approach for microfluidic component implementation was not adequate as compared to techniques based on manual cell counting principles. An improved microfluidic design has been developed to incorporate enhanced mixing and metering components, which together with this work provides the foundation on which to successfully implement automated, rapid and low-cost blood cell counting tests.

Microfluidic Cartridges for Automated, Point-of-Care Blood Cell Counting

“…The results of this work show a significant improvement in comparison to the first iteration microfluidic device 16 and previous version of the experimental setup, 17 where the percentage variations from the reference results were far removed from the acceptable CLIA-88 ranges.…”

“…15 The initial focus of this work is on total white and red blood cell counts, using a microfluidic cartridge for sample processing. The results using the first iteration microfluidic device 16,17 showed that the most simple-and thus low-cost-approach for microfluidic component implementation was not adequate compared with techniques based on manual cell counting principles. An improved microfluidic design has been developed to incorporate enhanced mixing and metering components, which together with this work provides the foundation on which to successfully implement automated, rapid, and lowcost blood cell counting tests.…”

Functional Packaging of Lateral Flow Strip Allows Simple Delivery of Multiple Reagents for Multistep Assays

“…Furthermore, the ability to report consistent signal intensities regardless of the variation in loading sample volume (Figure S3 of the Supporting Information) can be a useful feature for on-site monitoring purposes, where users may load imprecise volume of samples with tools such as disposable transfer pipets. Although the current format requires loading of several reagents before the experiment, this process can be further simplified by storing them in blister packs and bursting them open prior to use. , Such integration is expected to further simplify the assay and make it more suitable for on-site applications by a wide range of users.…”