Rapid, label-free CD4 testing using a smartphone compatible device

Abstract

The most recent guidelines have called for a significant shift towards viral load testing for HIV/AIDS management in developing countries; however point-of-care (POC) CD4 testing still remains an important component of disease staging in multiple developing countries. The advancements in micro/nanotechnologies and consumer electronics have paved the way for mobile healthcare technologies, and the development of point-of-care smartphone-based diagnostic assays for a variety of disease detection and treatment monitoring. Here, we report a simple, rapid (30 minutes) smartphone-based microfluidic chip for automated CD4 testing using a small volume (30 μL) of whole blood. The smartphone-based device includes an inexpensive (<$5) cellphone accessory and a functionalized disposable microfluidic device. We evaluated the performance of the device with spiked PBS samples and HIV-infected and uninfected whole blood, and compared the microfluidic chip results with the manual analysis and FACS results. Through t-tests, Bland-Altman analyses, and regression tests, we have shown a good agreement between the smartphone-based test and the manual and FACS analysis for CD4 count. The presented technology could have a significant impact in HIV management in developing countries through providing a reliable and inexpensive point-of-care CD4 testing.

Microfluidic Based Optical Microscopes on Chip

“…). They validated the system using HIV‐infected and uninfected whole blood samples, obtaining a good agreement with traditional laboratory detection systems . More recently, Yang et al have developed a prototype called M kit , based on a smartphone fluorescence microscope to perform experiments of cell migration and chemotaxis in 3D environments.…”

“…It is worth noting the compactness of the attached plastic system, ( b ) schematic view of the external elements needed to perform the bright field microscopy: An external light source and its battery for sample illumination and the optical lens to create the microscope together with the lens already present in the mobile phone (reproduced from Ref. with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Emerging technologies for home‐based semen analysis

“…Microfluidic devices are being developed for various applications in medicine including disease diagnosis, tissue culture, and cryopreservation (Asghar et al ., , , ; Hafeez et al ., ; Miki & Clapham, ; Seiringer et al ., ; Tasoglu et al ., ,; Islam et al ., ; Shafiee et al ., ; Safavieh et al ., 2016; Adenmosun et al ., ; Coarsey et al ., ; Kanakasabapathy et al ., ). Like paper‐based devices, these microfluidic devices also provide a quick way to evaluate semen with a simple readout.…”

Smartphone‐based clinical diagnostics: towards democratization of evidence‐based health care

“…Moreover, malaria parasites, sickled blood cells and tuberculosis (TB) bacilli have been captured with a high resolution with smartphone microscopes that include brightfield and fluorescence in blood and sputum samples . Cell counting and cytology applications are also possible using a regular smartphone‐based imaging system combined with a microfluidic chip with surface functionalization for specific capture and counting of CD4‐positive T cells . Other cost‐effective mobile imaging systems were also developed for imaging and detection of CD4‐ and CD8‐positive cells .…”