Portable Diagnostic Tool Research Articles

Potential of the CRISPR-Cas system for improved parasite diagnosis: CRISPR-Cas mediated diagnosis in parasitic infections: CRISPR-Cas mediated diagnosis in parasitic infections.

CRISPR-Cas technology accelerates development of fast, accurate, and portable diagnostic tools, typified by recent applications in COVID-19 diagnosis. Parasitic helminths cause devastating diseases afflicting 1.5 billion people globally, representing a significant public health and economic burden, especially in developing countries. Currently available diagnostic tests for worm infection are neither sufficiently sensitive nor field-friendly for use in low-endemic or resource-poor settings, leading to underestimation of true prevalence rates. Mass drug administration programs are unsustainable long-term, and diagnostic tools - required to be rapid, specific, sensitive, cost-effective, and user-friendly without specialized equipment and expertise - are urgently needed for rapid mapping of helminthic diseases and monitoring control programs. We describe the key features of the CRISPR-Cas12/13 system and emphasise its potential for the development of effective tools for the diagnosis of parasitic and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a key recommendation of the NTDs 2021-2030 roadmap released by the World Health Organization.

Abstract TP56: Low Cost, Portable Electroencephalograph May Improve The Accuracy Of Prehospital Stroke Diagnosis And Detection Of Large Vessel Occlusion

Accurate and timely prehospital stroke diagnosis and detection of large vessel occlusion (LVO) are essential to ensure stroke patients are transported to hospitals that offer emergent reperfusion therapies. However, symptom based prehospital stroke scales often fail to identify LVO. Thus, a need exists for cost-effective and portable diagnostic tools, such as portable electroencephalography (EEG) to improve the accuracy of prehospital stroke diagnosis. Hypotheses: 1) Quantitative EEG measures will differ between LVO and non-LVO stroke patients, particularly in regards to brain slowing (ratio of low to high frequency oscillatory brain power) and brain asymmetry (ratio between oscillations in the affected and unaffected hemisphere) 2) Combining EEG with prehospital stroke scales will improve the accuracy of LVO detection. We enrolled patients with acute suspected stroke on presentation to an emergency department at a comprehensive stroke centre. Patients were rapidly evaluated with the Los Angeles Motor Scale followed by a 3-minute resting-state EEG recording using a modified Muse EEG headband (InteraXon). The LVO diagnosis and the extent of cerebral blood flow abnormalities were determined from CT angiography and CT perfusion imaging performed in close temporal proximity to the EEG recording. The study enrolled 74 patients (n= 8 LVO, n=66 non-LVO, including stroke mimics). Initial analysis suggests that LVO patients have trends towards brain slowing, as measured by the delta alpha ratio (LVO: mean = 1.21, SEM = 0.03; non-LVO: mean = 1.19, SEM = 0.01; p-value = 0.34). Additionally, LVO patients showed a trend towards increased brain asymmetry from 6-8 Hz, suggesting physiological differences between hemispheres specific to the theta frequency (LVO: mean = 0.02, SEM = 0.006; non-LVO: mean = 0.01, SEM = 0.002; p-value = 0.13). Quantitative measures will be assessed using classification trees to determine which combination of EEG and clinical features is most predictive of LVO. In conclusion, acute differences in brain activity between LVO and non-LVO patients can be detected with portable EEG, which when combined with clinical stroke scales, have the potential to improve the diagnosis and triage of suspected stroke patients in a prehospital setting.

72 Medical Student Attitudes Towards Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Undergraduate Medical Education

Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is a bedside imaging modality that provides the operator with instant clinical patient information. PoCUS is a low-cost, radiation-free, portable diagnostic tool that is utilized in many specialities The aim of the study was to assess undergraduate medical students’ attitudes towards PoCUS through the implementation of a rudimentary proctored PoCUS workshop.Third-year medical students at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland participated in a 1-hour PoCUS workshop as part of their fundamental clinical skills training. Medical students attended the in-person workshop repeated over 8 weeks. Students were exposed to three ultrasound stations. The first was a CAE Vimedix ultrasound simulator utilizing augmented reality colourization and 3D modelling. The second station was learning and performing an extended FAST scan with a focus on bright mode image acquisition and free fluid recognition. The third station was the practical placement of peripheral/central IV-line insertion helping students to identify vasculature while also manipulating the ultrasound transducer as a procedural adjunct. Students were asked to complete a post-workshop survey to investigate their attitudes towards ultrasound teaching in undergraduate medical education. The survey consisted of 10 questions to assess attendee’s prior ultrasound knowledge, to provide constructive feedback regarding the workshop and how ultrasound can be incorporated into future undergraduate medical education.A total of 121 students completed the post-workshop survey. Of those who completed the survey, 94.2% of students had never used an ultrasound machine before and 100% had never performed PoCUS previously. Collectively, participants strongly agreed 100% that PoCUS should be incorporated into the undergraduate medical student curriculum at RCSI. In particular, 89.3% and 45.5% of students indicated that POTUS should be included in the third- and fourth-year medicine curriculum, respectively. 85.1% of students indicated that PoCUS education would be most valuable to supplement clinical placement followed by anatomy (62.8%), pathology (59.9%) and physiology (23.1%). 86.8% of the students were interested in learning more about PoCUS through an online format.PoCUS appears to be an additional valuable learning resource for undergraduate medical students. Of the students surveyed, it is apparent that there is strong support in favour of early ultrasound integration into the future medical school curriculum.

Portable Tools for COVID-19 Point-of-Care Detection: A Review.

Recently, several methods for SARS-CoV-2 detection have been developed to obtain rapid, portable, cheap, and easy-to-use diagnostic tools. This review paper summarizes and discusses studies on the development of point-of-care devices for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis with comparisons between them from several aspects. Various detection methods of the recently developed portable COVID-19 biosensor will be presented in this review. The discussion is divided into four major classifications based on the target biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2, such as antibodies, nucleic acids, antigens, and metabolic products. An overview of the potential development for future study is also provided. Moreover, basic knowledge of biosensors is also explained for tutoring the implementation of theory into the research of COVID-19 biosensors. This review paper is aimed to provide a tutorial by collecting the information on the development of a point-of-care device for SARS-CoV-2 detection to provide information for further research and propose the new COVID-19 portable diagnostic tool.

Effect of Different N Management on Improving N Efficiency in Rice- tarom Variety

The chlorophyll meter (SPAD) and leaf colour chart (LCC) are simple, portable diagnostic tools that can measure the crop N status in situ in rice fields to determine the timing of N top dressingAn experiment was carried out in Rice Research Institute in Mazandaran, in 2019. A test material has been evaluated in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Tarom variety were grown under eight treatments at plant density of 25*25 cm. Eight treatments included a zero-N control, o splits, chlorophyll meter 35, 37, 40, LCC 4 and 5. Result showed that Both LCC and SPAD can be used to improve N management for rice. The optimal SPAD threshold for determining the timing of N-application was 35. LCC treatments indicated that N-management based on LCC shade 4 helped avoid over application of N. Critical value of LCC 4 was more beneficial in enhancing the growth and agronomic, physiologic and internal efficiency. It is suggested that when N-management technology such as real time N-management (SPAD and LCC) were used, would avoid to over application of N fertilizer by rice farmers. The objective of this study is to determine critical threshold SPAD and LCC value of Tarom variety of rice(Oyiza Sativa L).

Role of portable ultrasound during a short-term medical service trip to rural Guatemala: a collaborative mission of trainees and physicians.

Access to health care in developing countries is scarce. One solution to this problem has been for doctors from the USA to provide single-visit care through short-term medical service trips. There is interest in using ultrasound imaging as a portable diagnostic tool; however, data describing its usefulness are scarce. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the usefulness of portable ultrasound imaging during a medical service trip to rural Guatemala. A multidisciplinary team of physicians examined patients at a mobile clinic in Antigua, Guatemala. Patients with clinical indications for ultrasound had their suspected diagnoses recorded before ultrasound testing. After imaging, updated diagnoses were recorded and compared with the pre-test suspected diagnoses to determine how often ultrasound results changed the medical management of the patients and to assess the most common indications for ultrasound imaging. During the trip, 205 patients were seen. Of these, 24 (12%) were given ultrasound exams. The results of 13 (54%) exams altered their medical management, and the remaining 11 (46%) exams confirmed the pre-test suspected diagnoses. The most common indications for ultrasound testing were suspected cardiac (11 patients, 46%) and gastrointestinal (8 patients, 33%) diseases. Portable ultrasound imaging improved the medical team's ability to diagnose disease and clinically manage patients in a rural medical service trip. Ultrasound imaging may provide a low-cost solution to the growing demand for care in developing countries.

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein detection through a plasmonic D-shaped plastic optical fiber aptasensor

A specific aptameric sequence has been immobilized on short polyethyleneglycol (PEG) interface on gold nano-film deposited on a D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POFs) probe, and the protein binding has been monitored exploiting the very sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein has been specifically used to develop an aptasensor. Surface analysis techniques coupled to fluorescence microscopy and plasmonic analysis have been utilized to characterize the biointerface. Spanning a wide protein range (25 ÷ 1000 nM), the SARS-Cov-2 spike protein was detected with a Limit of Detection (LoD) of about 37 nM. Different interferents (BSA, AH1N1 hemagglutinin protein and MERS spike protein) have been tested confirming the specificity of our aptasensor. Finally, a preliminary test in diluted human serum encouraged its application in a point-of-care device, since POF-based aptasensor represent a potentially low-cost compact biosensor, characterized by a rapid response, a small size and could be an ideal laboratory portable diagnostic tool.

Biosensors for diagnosis of urinary tract infections: Advances and future challenges

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) have become a serious health concern globally due to its increasing incidence, recurrence rates, and high antimicrobial resistance among uropathogens (viz. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Conventional methods such as urine culture, urine microscopy is being used for diagnosis which is time-consuming and laborious whereas other techniques such as ELISA, PCR, Raman spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, flow cytometry, nucleic-acid based diagnostics, isothermal calorimetry are rapid but requires well-trained experts and costly instruments. Thus, there is an urgent demand for a rapid, portable, highly sensitive, and cost-effective diagnostic tool. Biosensors are recognized to be an efficient and emerging technology providing an early and accurate determination of uropathogens which is the management key of UTIs. In this review, we have discussed the overview of challenges and future directions of developing biosensors along with nanomaterial application as an improvised strategy leading to the design of ultrasensitive and effective point of care device and emphasizing more on sensitivity and selectivity.

Optimization of innovative composite sensor for Pb(II) detection and capturing from water samples

In developing countries, the lack of analytical infrastructures hindering the regular quality assessments of water quality. The access to affordable, portable and easy-to-use analytical technologies for real-time and on-site water monitoring is necessary to safeguard public health and protect the environment. In this connection, ligand based composite sensor material was successfully developed for optical detection and removal of toxic lead (Pb(II)) ion from water. The fabricated sensor was exhibited the specific functionality for Pb(II) detection and removal from aqueous media in ultra-trace level. The Pb(II) ion detection limit was defined as low as 0.24 µg/L with evolving specific color formation at optimum conditions. The solution acidity was the key point for the formation of specific color after addition of Pb(II) ion by the sensor material. The effect of diverse competing ions were not significantly affected in the Pb(II) ion detection. Moreover, the Pb(II) ion removal data were well fitted to the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity was 155.27 mg/g. The prepared sensor was completely eluted with 0.20 M HCl after optimum Pb(II) adsorption and then simultaneously regenerated into the initial form for the next detection and removal operation after rinsing with water. The performance of the sensor material platform provides an alternative way to detect Pb(II) ion in trace level in real-life water samples. In addition, the methodology can lead to an affordable and portable diagnostic tool for rapid and on-site monitoring of heavy metals pollution in developing countries.

Simplified formats of modern biosensors: 60 years of using immunochromatographic test systems in laboratory diagnostics.

Immunochromatographic test systems known to foreign laboratory diagnostic experts as lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) are simplified tape formats of modern biosensors. For 60 years, they have been widely used for the rapid detection of target molecules (ligands) in biosubstrates and the diagnosis of many diseases and conditions. The growing popularity of these test systems for providing medical care or diagnostics in developing countries, medical facilities, in emergency situations, as well as for individual home use by patients while monitoring their health are the main factors contributing to the continuous development and improvement of these methods, the emergence of a new generation of formats. The attractiveness and popularity of these fast, easy-to-use, inexpensive and portable diagnostic tools is associated primarily with their high analytical sensitivity and specificity, as well as the ease of interpretation of the results. These qualities have passed the test of time, and today LFIA test systems are fully consistent with the modern world concept of «point-of-care testing», finding wide application not only in medicine, but also in ecology, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. This review will highlight the modern principles of designing the most widely used formats of immunochromatographic test systems for clinical laboratory diagnostics, summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the method, as well as current achievements and prospects of LFIA technology. Modern innovations aimed at improving the analytical characteristics of LFIA technology are interesting, promising and can bring additional benefits to immunochromatographic platforms that have gained popularity and attractiveness for six decades.

Challenges in Microfluidic and Point-of-Care Phenotypic Antimicrobial Resistance Tests

To combat the threat to public health of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need for faster, more portable diagnostic tools to aid in antibiotic selection. Current methods for determining antimicrobial resistance of pathogens in clinical samples take days to result and require high levels of user input. Microfluidics offers many potential benefits, reducing time to result, user input, and allowing point of care testing. This review focuses on the challenges of developing functional or phenotypic microfluidic antimicrobial susceptibility tests; such methods complement other vital tools such as nucleic acid detection. Some of the most important challenges identified here are not unique to microfluidics but apply to most antimicrobial susceptibility testing innovations and relate to the nature of the sample being tested. For many high priority samples, mixtures of bacteria, highly variable target cell density, and the sample matrix can all affect measurements, and miniaturization can create sensitivity problems if target bacteria are dilute. Recent advances including smartphone capability, new sensors, microscopy, and a resurgence in paper microfluidics offer important opportunities for microfluidic engineering to simplify functional and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing. But the complexity of most clinical samples remains one of the biggest barriers to rapid uptake of microfluidics for antimicrobial resistance testing.

Development of a Portable LAMP Assay for Detection of Neofabraea perennans in Commercial Apple Fruit.

Bull's eye rot (BER) is a major economic postharvest disease of apple and pear that can be caused by four Neofabraea species: N. perennans, N. alba, N. malicorticis, and N. kienholzii. In Central Washington, BER is predominantly caused by N. perennans. The fungus infects fruit preharvest, and because of the dry growing season in the region, infections remain latent with symptoms expressed only after 3 to 4 months of storage, when BER incidences as high as 20% can been seen, especially in rainy seasons and on susceptible cultivars. To ensure early and efficient infection detections before BER symptoms become visible at point-of-care locations, a portable diagnostic tool based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed using the β-tubulin gene. The LAMP assay was optimized and tested for specificity and sensitivity using DNA extracted from pure cultures of N. perennans and seven other fungal species. The results showed that the selected LAMP primer set was specific to N. perennans and highly sensitive as it detected DNA concentrations as low as 0.001 ng/µl after only 10 min. The assay was validated for N. perennans detection on artificially inoculated apples using a portable thermocycler, Genie II, without the need for DNA extraction. The LAMP assay detected N. perennans on apples inoculated with spore suspensions 3 weeks prior to harvest at concentrations of 103 spores/ml or higher. The assay was further validated using commercial Piñata apples from organic and conventional orchards, demonstrating the ability of this technique to amplify N. perennans from asymptomatic fruit in a commercial setting 3 months before commercial maturity. The LAMP assay developed for N. perennans detection can be easily expanded to detect the other BER causal species. LAMP has potential to be used in orchards and at point-of-care facilities to better inform on BER management at different fruit growth stages, and it has potential to be utilized to better understand the epidemiology of Neofabraea spp.

Leaving No Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke Behind: Reorganizing Stroke Systems of Care to Improve Timely Access to Endovascular Therapy.

Leaving No Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke Behind: Reorganizing Stroke Systems of Care to Improve Timely Access to Endovascular Therapy.

A sensitive on‐chip probe–based portable nuclear magnetic resonance for detecting low parasitaemia plasmodium falciparum in human blood

AbstractMalaria elimination programmes are dependent on a rapid, cost‐effective and portable diagnostic tool to detect and quantify malaria parasites in human blood. Herein, we report a cost‐effective and portable nuclear magnetic resonance (pNMR) for malaria diagnosis. In this present study, we have developed and characterized a sensitive and low‐cost novel on‐chip NMR probe. This NMR probe has improved mismatching problem between radiofrequency (RF) coil and transmission line that results in enhancement in NMR sensitivity. Developed pNMR represents a rapid, cost‐effective and highly sensitive method to detect very low parasitaemia plasmodium falciparum (0.0001%) in infected human blood in comparison with other available malaria diagnosis techniques. The experimental results show that very low parasitic load can be detected rapidly by the change in the transverse relaxation rate (T2) of NMR, suggesting a good sensitivity. A good linear relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.94 between the change in transverse relaxation rate (ΔT2) and the different parasitaemia (%) has been observed, indicating that pNMR is a potential tool for real‐time, reusable and high‐sensitivity analysis of malaria parasite in human blood.

Detecting head and neck squamous carcinoma using a portable handheld electronic nose.

IntroductionDetecting volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath enables the diagnosis of cancer. We investigated whether a handheld version of an electronic nose is able to discriminate between patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) and healthy controls.MethodsNinety‐one patients with HNSCC and 72 controls exhaled through an e‐nose. An artificial neural network based model was built to separate between HNSCC patients and healthy controls. Additionally, three models were created for separating between the oral, oropharyngeal, and glottic subsites respectively, and healthy controls.ResultsThe results showed a diagnostic accuracy of 72% at a sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 63%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.75. Results for the subsites showed an AUC of 0.85, 0.82, and 0.83 respectively for oral, oropharyngeal, and glottic HNSCC.ConclusionThis feasibility study showed that this portable noninvasive diagnostic tool can differentiate between HNSCC patients and healthy controls.

Leveraging Africa's preparedness towards the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Leveraging Africa's preparedness towards the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

A Self-Calibrating IoT Portable Electrochemical Immunosensor for Serum Human Epididymis Protein 4 as a Tumor Biomarker for Ovarian Cancer.

Nowadays, analytical techniques are moving towards the development of smart biosensing strategies for the point-of-care accurate screening of disease biomarkers, such as human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), a recently discovered serum marker for early ovarian cancer diagnosis. In this context, the present work represents the first implementation of a competitive enzyme-labelled magneto-immunoassay exploiting a homemade IoT Wi-Fi cloud-based portable potentiostat for differential pulse voltammetry readout. The electrochemical device was specifically designed to be capable of autonomous calibration and data processing, switching between calibration, and measurement modes: in particular, firstly, a baseline estimation algorithm is applied for correct peak computation, then calibration function is built by interpolating data with a four-parameter logistic function. The calibration function parameters are stored on the cloud for inverse prediction to determine the concentration of unknown samples. Interpolation function calibration and concentration evaluation are performed directly on-board, thus reducing the power consumption. The analytical device was validated in human serum, demonstrating good sensing performance for analysis of HE4 with detection and quantitation limits in human serum of 3.5 and 29.2 pM, respectively, reaching the sensitivity that is required for diagnostic purposes, with high potential for applications as portable and smart diagnostic tool for point-of-care testing.

Performance of striking techniques among qualified Muay Thai athletes of different weight classes

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to determine statistically significant differences between the indicators of striking techniques, performed by qualified Muay Thai athletes of different weight classes, using specialised tests. Material and research methods: the data from special and scientific literature were analysed, which determined the relevance of the subject matter and the availability of research in similar types of combat sports. A practical experiment was carried out using the Hykso portable strain gauge diagnostic tool in three specialised tests. The method of mathematical statistics was applied. Results: the advantage of lightweights over middleweights lies in the greater manifestation of the velocity component in the form of a starting force in the range between 50 and 100 ms. Conclusions: to develop an efficient training process for the improvement and implementation of speed-power potential with a clearly defined order of priority in striking techniques by weight classes, as well as to elaborate technical and tactical schemes and combinations in competitive activity, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the latter.

Paper-based (bio)sensor for label-free detection of 3-nitrotyrosine in human urine samples using molecular imprinted polymer

Over the last years, paper technology has been widely spread as a more affordable, sustainable and reliable support material to be incorporated in the design of point-of-care (POC) diagnostic devices. However, the single work employing a paper-based device for 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), a relevant biomarker for oxidative stress (OS) that is a major origin for many diseases, is incapable of reading successfully complex samples because every species that oxidizes before ~0.75 V will also contribute to the final response. Thus, the introduction of a selective element was made into this set-up by including a molecularly-imprinted polymer (MIP) tailored in-situ.Herein, a novel MIP for 3-NT was assembled directly on a paper platform, made conductive with carbon ink and suitable for an electrochemical transduction. The biomimetic material was produced by electropolymerization of phenol after optimizing several experimental parameters, such a scan-rate, number of cycles, range of potential applied, monomer and template concentrations. Under optimal conditions, the label-free sensor was able to respond to 3-NT from 500 nM to 1 mM, yielding a limit of detection of 22.3 nM. Finally, the applicability of the (bio)sensor was tested by performing calibration assays in human urine samples and a good performance was obtained in terms of sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility.Overall, the attributes of the herein described sensing approach can be compared to a very limited number of other electrochemical devices, that are still using a conventional three electrode system, making this paper-sustained device the first electrochemical (bio)sensor with potential to become a portable and low-cost diagnostic tool for 3-NT. In general, the incorporation of molecular imprinting technology coupled to electrochemical transduction enabled the fabrication of suitable smart sensors for wide screening approaches.

Handheld Cough Testing: A Novel Tool for Cough Assessment and Dysphagia Screening.

Aspiration pneumonia is a leading cause of death in Parkinson's disease (PD), occurring as a result of impaired cough and swallowing function. However, portable diagnostic tools for cough assessment and dysphagia screening are limited. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine if: (1) 'Handheld Cough Testing' (HCT), a novel tool developed for cough assessments, could detect differences in cough airflow and sensation during reflex and voluntary cough tasks; and (2) HCT could screen for dysphagia in PD with high sensitivity. Twenty-two people with PD underwent HCT and swallowing assessments. Cough airflow ('PEFR') and sensation ('UTC') was recorded during reflex and voluntary cough tasks. Flexible endoscopy was used to identify people with and without dysphagia. Within-subject statistical analyses were used to detect differences in PEFR and UTC across cough tasks and between-subject statistical analyses were used to detect differences in cough function between people with and without dysphagia. Results revealed significant differences in PEFR (p < 0.0005) and UTC (p < 0.0005) across cough tasks using HCT. Additionally, reflex cough PEFR was significantly different between people with and without dysphagia (p < 0.05). A cut-off of 42.5 L/min exhibited an excellent ability to predict dysphagia in people with PD (90.9% sensitivity; 80.0% specificity). This study revealed that HCT was a valid tool for cough assessment and dysphagia screening. It identified differences in cough airflow and sensation during reflex and voluntary cough tasks and screened for people with dysphagia in PD with high sensitivity.