<p>Scientists have developed a handheld device that enables a smartphone to perform lab- grade medical diagnostic tests which typically require large, expensive instruments.<br /><br />The USD 550 spectral transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI) Analyzer attaches to a smartphone and analyses patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based instruments that cost thousands of dollars.<br /><br />"Our TRI Analyzer is like the Swiss Army knife of biosensing," said Brian Cunningham, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US.<br /><br />"It is capable of performing the three most common types of tests in medical diagnostics, so in practice, thousands of already-developed tests could be adapted to it," Cunningham said.<br /><br />Researchers used the TRI Analyzer to perform two commercially available assays - a test to detect a biomarker associated with pre-term birth in pregnant women and the phenylketonuria (PKU) test for newborns to indirectly detect an enzyme essential for normal growth and development.<br /><br />Their test results were comparable to those acquired with clinic-grade spectrometer instrumentation.<br /><br />"The TRI Analyzer is more of a portable laboratory than a specialised device," said Kenny Long, lead author of the research published in the journal Lab on a Chip.<br /><br />Among the many diagnostic tests that can be adapted to their point-of-care smartphone format is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which detects and measures a wide variety of proteins and antibodies in blood and is commonly used for a wide range of health diagnostics tests.<br /><br />The system is capable of detecting the output of any test that uses a liquid that changes colour, or a liquid that generates light output (such as from fluorescent dyes).<br /><br />The TRI Analyzer operates by converting the smartphone camera into a high-performance spectrometer.<br /><br />Specifically, the analyzer illuminates a sample fluid with the phone's internal white light-emitting diode (LED) flash or with an inexpensive external green laser diode.<br /><br />The light from the sample is collected in an optical fibre and guided through a diffraction grating into the phone's rear-facing internal camera.<br /><br />These optical components are all arranged within a three-dimensional (3D) printed plastic cradle.<br />The TRI Analyzer can simultaneously measure multiple samples by using a microfluidic cartridge that slides through an opening in the back of the cradle.<br /><br />This ability to analyse multiple samples quickly and reliably makes the Analyzer suitable for patients who lack convenient access to a clinic or hospital with diagnostic test facilities or for patients with urgent health situations requiring rapid results. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Scientists have developed a handheld device that enables a smartphone to perform lab- grade medical diagnostic tests which typically require large, expensive instruments.<br /><br />The USD 550 spectral transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI) Analyzer attaches to a smartphone and analyses patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based instruments that cost thousands of dollars.<br /><br />"Our TRI Analyzer is like the Swiss Army knife of biosensing," said Brian Cunningham, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US.<br /><br />"It is capable of performing the three most common types of tests in medical diagnostics, so in practice, thousands of already-developed tests could be adapted to it," Cunningham said.<br /><br />Researchers used the TRI Analyzer to perform two commercially available assays - a test to detect a biomarker associated with pre-term birth in pregnant women and the phenylketonuria (PKU) test for newborns to indirectly detect an enzyme essential for normal growth and development.<br /><br />Their test results were comparable to those acquired with clinic-grade spectrometer instrumentation.<br /><br />"The TRI Analyzer is more of a portable laboratory than a specialised device," said Kenny Long, lead author of the research published in the journal Lab on a Chip.<br /><br />Among the many diagnostic tests that can be adapted to their point-of-care smartphone format is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which detects and measures a wide variety of proteins and antibodies in blood and is commonly used for a wide range of health diagnostics tests.<br /><br />The system is capable of detecting the output of any test that uses a liquid that changes colour, or a liquid that generates light output (such as from fluorescent dyes).<br /><br />The TRI Analyzer operates by converting the smartphone camera into a high-performance spectrometer.<br /><br />Specifically, the analyzer illuminates a sample fluid with the phone's internal white light-emitting diode (LED) flash or with an inexpensive external green laser diode.<br /><br />The light from the sample is collected in an optical fibre and guided through a diffraction grating into the phone's rear-facing internal camera.<br /><br />These optical components are all arranged within a three-dimensional (3D) printed plastic cradle.<br />The TRI Analyzer can simultaneously measure multiple samples by using a microfluidic cartridge that slides through an opening in the back of the cradle.<br /><br />This ability to analyse multiple samples quickly and reliably makes the Analyzer suitable for patients who lack convenient access to a clinic or hospital with diagnostic test facilities or for patients with urgent health situations requiring rapid results. <br /><br /></p>