A Multiplexed Serologic Test for Diagnosis of Lyme Disease for Point-of-Care Use.

Single multiplexed assays could replace the standard 2-tiered (STT) algorithm recommended for the laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease if they perform with a specificity and a sensitivity superior or equal to those of the STT algorithm. We used human serum rigorously characterized to be sera from patients with acute- and convalescent-phase early Lyme disease, Lyme arthritis, and posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome, as well as the necessary controls (n = 241 samples), to select the best of 12 Borrelia burgdorferi proteins to improve our microfluidic assay (mChip-Ld). We then evaluated its serodiagnostic performance in comparison to that of a first-tier enzyme immunoassay and the STT algorithm. We observed that more antigens became positive as Lyme disease progressed from early to late stages. We selected three antigens (3Ag) to include in the mChip-Ld: VlsE and a proprietary synthetic 33-mer peptide (PepVF) to capture sensitivity in all disease stages and OspC for early Lyme disease. With the specificity set at 95%, the sensitivity of the mChip-Ld with 3Ag ranged from 80% (95% confidence interval [CI], 56% to 94%) and 85% (95% CI, 74% to 96%) for two panels of serum from patients with early Lyme disease and was 100% (95% CI, 83% to 100%) for serum from patients with Lyme arthritis; the STT algorithm detected early Lyme disease in the same two panels of serum from patients with early Lyme disease with a sensitivity of 48.5% and 75% and Lyme arthritis in serum from patients with Lyme arthritis with a sensitivity of 100%, and the specificity was 97.5% to 100%. The mChip-Ld platform outperformed the STT algorithm according to sensitivity. These results open the door for the development of a single, rapid, multiplexed diagnostic test for point-of-care use that can be designed to identify the Lyme disease stage.

The 4Kscore blood test accurately identifies men with aggressive prostate cancer prior to prostate biopsy with or without DRE information.

INTRODUCTION: The 4Kscore Test is a prebiopsy blood test that incorporates four prostate protein biomarkers along with patient clinical information to determine a man's risk for high-grade, aggressive (Gleason ≥7) prostate cancer. However, some men likely to benefit from the test may be seen in primary care settings where the digital rectal examination (DRE) information is not always obtained. In this study, we assessed the clinical validity of the 4Kscore Test when the DRE information was not included in the algorithm. METHODS: The Prospective 4Kscore Validation Study enrolled 1012 men scheduled for prostate biopsy across 26 urology practices in the United States. The 4Kscore was calculated for each patient with and without DRE information. The primary outcome was Gleason ≥7 prostate cancer on prostate biopsy. The contribution of DRE to the predictive accuracy of the test was evaluated by area under the receiver operating curve (AUC-ROC), risk calibration and clinical consequences. RESULTS: High-grade, aggressive prostate cancer was found in 231 (23%) of the 1012 patients. Both versions of the 4Kscore Test, with and without DRE, showed excellent discrimination (AUC=0.821 with DRE and AUC=0.818 without DRE input) and excellent calibration. No clinically significant difference was found between the two versions of the 4Kscore. CONCLUSIONS: The 4Kscore Test algorithm, whether DRE findings are available or not, performs well in predicting a man's risk of high-grade, aggressive prostate cancer. Patients who are suspected of having aggressive prostate cancer can safely have their risk better defined by 4Kscore even if a DRE has not been performed recently.

Mobile device for disease diagnosis and data tracking in resource-limited settings.

BACKGROUND: Collection of epidemiological data and care of patients are hampered by lack of access to laboratory diagnostic equipment and patients' health records in resource-limited settings. We engineered a low-cost mobile device that combines cell-phone and satellite communication technologies with fluid miniaturization techniques for performing all essential ELISA functions. METHODS: We assessed the device's ability to perform HIV serodiagnostic testing in Rwanda and synchronize results in real time with electronic health records. We tested serum, plasma, and whole blood samples collected in Rwanda and on a commercially available sample panel made of mixed antibody titers. RESULTS: HIV testing on 167 Rwandan patients evaluated for HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections yielded diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 99%, respectively. Testing on 40 Rwandan whole-blood samples-using 1 µL of sample per patient-resulted in diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 100%. The mobile device also successfully transmitted all whole-blood test results from a Rwandan clinic to a medical records database stored on the cloud. For all samples in the commercial panel, the device produced results in agreement with a leading ELISA test, including detection of weakly positive samples that were missed by existing rapid tests. The device operated autonomously with minimal user input, produced each result 10 times faster than benchtop ELISA, and consumed as little power as a mobile phone. CONCLUSIONS: A low-cost mobile device can perform a blood-based HIV serodiagnostic test with laboratory-level accuracy and real-time synchronization of patient health record data.

Integrating user behavior with engineering design of point-of-care diagnostic devices: theoretical framework and empirical findings.

With point-of-care (POC) diagnostic devices becoming increasingly available to untrained users, it will be critical to understand how real-world user behavior can best inform and guide the engineering design process. Social sciences present frameworks for analyzing user behavior, but they have not yet been applied to POC diagnostics in a methodical manner. Here, we develop a framework that synthesizes two models that can collectively account for user behavior and experience with POC diagnostic devices: a social psychological information-motivation-behavior (IMB) model (first described by Fisher and Fisher) for identifying determinants for health-related behavior, and user experience (UX) elements for studying interactions between users and products. Based on studies of 40 naïve users of our smartphone-enabled microfluidics device that can be used for HIV home-testing, we found that untrained participants could perform 90% of steps correctly, with engineering design elements that provided feedback that was either direct (e.g., a light or click) or binary (e.g., a switch) enhancing usability. Interestingly, of the steps performed incorrectly, over 70% were due not to errors in the device or user operation, but user-to-user variability (e.g. time in collecting fingerstick and force applied to initiate vacuum), which could be addressed by further modifications to the device. Overall, this study suggests that microfluidic POC HIV home-testing is likely to benefit from smartphone integration, and that engineering design of POC diagnostic devices can benefit from a structured evaluation of user behavior and experience, as guided by a social-psychological framework, which emphasizes user credibility, accessibility, acceptability, usability, and value.

Label-free detection of single protein molecules and protein-protein interactions using synthetic nanopores.

Nanofabricated pores in 20 nm-thick silicon nitride membranes were used to probe various protein analytes as well as to perform an antigen-antibody binding assay. A two-compartment electrochemical cell was separated by a single nanopore, 28 nm in diameter. Adding proteins to one compartment caused current perturbations in the ion current flowing through the pore. These perturbations correlated with both the charge and the size of the protein or of a protein-protein complex. The potential of this nanotechnology for studying protein-protein interactions is highlighted with the sensitive detection of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone and clinical biomarker of pregnancy, by monitoring in real time and at a molecular level the formation of a complex between hormones and antibodies in solution. In this form, the assay compared advantageously to immunoassays, with the important difference that labels, immobilization, or amplification steps were no longer needed. In conclusion, we present proof-of-principle that properties of proteins and their interactions can be investigated in solution using synthetic nanopores and that these interactions can be exploited to measure protein concentrations accurately.

Performance of the 4Kscore Test in Plasma and Serum and Stability of the Component Analytes in Clinical Samples.

BACKGROUND: The 4Kscore Test determines a personalized risk score for aggressive prostate cancer by combining the blood sample measurements of total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), intact PSA (iPSA), and human kallikrein-related peptidase 2 (hK2) with patient clinical information to generate the patient risk's score; thus, accuracy and precision of the 4Kscore depend on the reliability of these measurements. Although tPSA and fPSA are measured on a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved platform, the performance of the iPSA and hK2 assays in the clinical setting has not previously been reported. METHODS: Analytical performance was determined for the iPSA and hK2 assays in both serum and EDTA plasma, according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Equivalence of the 4Kscore in both sample matrices was demonstrated in a 353-patient clinical cohort, and the stability of endogenous iPSA and hK2 for at least 3 days was demonstrated in a smaller subset. RESULTS: Intralaboratory and interlaboratory precision of the iPSA and hK2 assays in both matrices was comparable with that of FDA-approved tPSA and fPSA assays (<18% for iPSA; <8% for hK2). The picogram per milliliter sensitivity and wide dynamic range of the iPSA and hK2 assays allowed for accurate measurements in the target population. The 4Kscore generated in either matrix up to 3 days after collection is equivalent to that measured within 24 h of collection (Passing-Bablok slope 95% CI: plasma, 0.999-1.034; serum, 0.997-1.040). CONCLUSIONS: The robust performance of component assays and reliable stability of the endogenous analytes in clinical samples proven here ensures an accurate 4Kscore Test result.

Lab-on-a-chip devices for global health: past studies and future opportunities.

A rapidly emerging field in lab-on-a-chip (LOC) research is the development of devices to improve the health of people in developing countries. In this review, we identify diseases that are most in need of new health technologies, discuss special design criteria for LOC devices to be deployed in a variety of resource-poor settings, and review past research into LOC devices for global health. We focus mainly on diagnostics, the nearest-term application in this field.

Use of the 4Kscore test to predict the risk of aggressive prostate cancer prior to prostate biopsy: Overall cost savings and improved quality of care to the us healthcare system.

The 4Kscore® Test (BioReference Laboratories, Elmwood Park, NJ) is a blood test that accurately determines the risk of aggressive prostate cancer and significantly reduces prostate biopsies and associated overdiagnosis and overtreatment of indolent cancer. A budget impact model was developed to test the hypothesis that the 4Kscore Test can improve quality of care and deliver cost savings for patients who are suspected of having prostate cancer and would otherwise undergo prostate biopsy under the current standard of care (SOC) in the United States. The direct costs (diagnosis plus treatment) utilized in the model are based on Medicare payment data and were calculated over a 1-year time horizon. The model compares SOC, in which all patients have prostate biopsy, to a "4Kscore strategy," in which the 4Kscore Test is used to guide the decision to biopsy the prostate. A set of one-way sensitivity analyses was conducted to examine the robustness of the findings. Savings of more than $169 million (15.6% of total SOC costs) were realized in the 4Kscore strategy versus SOC ($917 M versus $1,086 M, respectively) in a cohort of 100,000 patients. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the findings are robust. Most cost savings for the 4Kscore strategy were realized in patients who, when managed by SOC, are found to have no prostate cancer or Gleason score 6 pathology. The patients with Gleason score 6 exhibited the greatest benefits from the 4Kscore strategy, avoiding both an unnecessary prostate biopsy and subsequent overtreatment. The 4Kscore Test was shown to significantly reduce costs to the healthcare system while improving patients' quality of care. Providers and their patients suspected of having prostate cancer should consider using the 4Kscore Test prior to proceeding with prostate biopsy.

Clinical performance of the 4Kscore Test to predict high-grade prostate cancer at biopsy: A meta-analysis of us and European clinical validation study results.

The 4Kscore® Test (OPKO Diagnostics, Woburn, MA) is a blood test utilized prior to a prostate biopsy to determine a patient's risk of high-grade prostate cancer (PCa) should the biopsy be performed, thus providing critical information in the clinical management of men with a suspicious prostate-specific antigen value or digital rectal examination result. Multiple US and European clinical studies confirmed that a prebiopsy 4Kscore Test has a high degree of discrimination for a subsequent discovery of high-grade (Gleason score ≥7) PCa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the 4Kscore Test to discriminate between patients with and without high-grade PCa based on published clinical validation studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the eligible 4Kscore Test clinical validation studies was conducted. The pooled area under the curve (AUC) of the 4Kscore Test as reported from all the studies, and the heterogeneity among these studies were analyzed and repeated for subgroups of the studies. Twelve clinical validation studies were included in the meta-analysis, comprising a total of 11,134 patients. The pooled AUC to discriminate for high-grade PCa for all 12 studies was 0.81 (fixed effects 95% CI, 0.80-0.83). Restricting the analysis to the six publications that used the contemporary 4Kscore Test algorithm led to very similar results (AUC 0.81; 95% CI, 0.79-0.83). Heterogeneity was high among all of the 12 studies, as well as among the six publications that used the contemporary 4Kscore Test (Cochrane's Q test, p = 0.001 for both); however, in both cases, after exclusion of a single outlying study with a much lower AUC, heterogeneity was no longer significant (p = 0.08 and p = 0.21). The pooled estimate of 4Kscore Test discrimination (AUC) for high-grade PCa is >0.80, and is consistent across multiple US and European clinical validation studies.

Characterization of a microfluidic dispensing system for localised stimulation of cellular networks.

We present a 3-D microfluidic device designed for localized drug delivery to cellular networks. The device features a flow cell comprising a main channel for nutrient delivery as well as multiple channels for drug delivery. This device is one key component of a larger, fully integrated system now under development, based upon a microelectrode array (MEA) with on-chip CMOS circuitry for recording and stimulation of electrogenic cells (e.g. neurons, cardiomyocytes). As a critical system unit, the microfluidics must be carefully designed and characterized to ensure that candidate drugs are delivered to specific regions of the culture at known concentrations. Furthermore, microfluidic design and functionality is dictated by the size, geometry, and material/electrical characteristics of the CMOS MEA. Therefore, this paper reports on the design considerations and fabrication of the flow cell, including theoretical and experimental analysis of the mass transfer properties of the nutrient and drug flows, which are in good agreement with one another. To demonstrate proof of concept, the flow cell was mounted on a dummy CMOS chip, which had been plated with HL-1 cardiomyocytes. A test chemical compound was delivered to the cell culture in a spatially resolved manner. Envisioned applications of this stand-alone system include simultaneous toxicological testing of multiple compounds and chemical stimulation of natural neural networks for neuroscience investigations.

Microfluidics-based point-of-care test for serodiagnosis of Lyme Disease.

Currently, diagnostic testing for Lyme disease is done by determination of the serologic responses to Borrelia burgdorferi antigens, with the exception of the early localized phase of disease where diagnosis must be done clinically. Here, we describe the use of microfluidics technology to develop a multiplexed rapid lab-on-a-chip point of care (POC) assay for the serologic diagnosis of human Lyme disease. Following ELISA screening of 12 candidate antigens, we tested 8 on a microfluidic diagnostic system, called mChip-Ld, using a set of 60 serological samples. The mChip-Ld test, which can be performed in 15 minutes at the point of care, showed promising performance for detection of antibodies to B. burgdorferi using the PPO triplex test (rP100 + PepVF + rOspC-K, AUC of 0.844) compared to a gold-standard reference of culture confirmed clinical samples. The performance is comparable to the commonly used C6 peptide by lab-based ELISA. In addition, the mChip-Ld test showed promising performance for early-stage diagnosis of the disease using the antigen OspC-K (sensitivity and specificity of 84% and 92%, respectively; AUC of 0.877). Overall, this study underscores the potential of using microfluidics to aid the diagnosis of Lyme disease at the point of care.

Water-soluble sacrificial layers for surface micromachining.

This manuscript describes the use of water-soluble polymers for use as sacrificial layers in surface micromachining. Water-soluble polymers have two attractive characteristics for this application: 1) They can be deposited conveniently by spin-coating, and the solvent removed at a low temperature (95-150 degrees C), and 2) the resulting layer can be dissolved in water; no corrosive reagents or organic solvents are required. This technique is therefore compatible with a number of fragile materials, such as organic polymers, metal oxides and metals-materials that might be damaged during typical surface micromachining processes. The carboxylic acid groups of one polymer-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-can be transformed by reversible ion-exchange from water-soluble (Na+ counterion) to water-insoluble (Ca2+ counterion) forms. The use of PAA and dextran polymers as sacrificial materials is a useful technique for the fabrication of microstructures: Examples include metallic structures formed by the electrodeposition of nickel, and freestanding, polymeric structures formed by photolithography.

A smartphone dongle for diagnosis of infectious diseases at the point of care.

This work demonstrates that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory. This low-cost dongle replicates all mechanical, optical, and electronic functions of a laboratory-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) without requiring any stored energy; all necessary power is drawn from a smartphone. Rwandan health care workers used the dongle to test whole blood obtained via fingerprick from 96 patients enrolling into care at prevention of mother-to-child transmission clinics or voluntary counseling and testing centers. The dongle performed a triplexed immunoassay not currently available in a single test format: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and nontreponemal antibody for active syphilis infection. In a blinded experiment, health care workers obtained diagnostic results in 15 min from our triplex test that rivaled the gold standard of laboratory-based HIV ELISA and rapid plasma reagin (a screening test for syphilis), with sensitivity of 92 to 100% and specificity of 79 to 100%, consistent with needs of current clinical algorithms. Patient preference for the dongle was 97% compared to laboratory-based tests, with most pointing to the convenience of obtaining quick results with a single fingerprick. This work suggests that coupling microfluidics with recent advances in consumer electronics can make certain laboratory-based diagnostics accessible to almost any population with access to smartphones.

Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices.

A large part of the excitement behind microfluidics is in its potential for producing practical devices, but surprisingly few lab-on-a-chip based technologies have been successfully introduced into the market. Here, we review current work in commercializing microfluidic technologies, with a focus on point-of-care diagnostics applications. We will also identify challenges to commercialization, including lessons drawn from our experience in Claros Diagnostics. Moving forward, we discuss the need to strike a balance between achieving real-world impact with integrated devices versus design of novel single microfluidic components.

Microfluidics-based diagnostics of infectious diseases in the developing world.

One of the great challenges in science and engineering today is to develop technologies to improve the health of people in the poorest regions of the world. Here we integrated new procedures for manufacturing, fluid handling and signal detection in microfluidics into a single, easy-to-use point-of-care (POC) assay that faithfully replicates all steps of ELISA, at a lower total material cost. We performed this 'mChip' assay in Rwanda on hundreds of locally collected human samples. The chip had excellent performance in the diagnosis of HIV using only 1 µl of unprocessed whole blood and an ability to simultaneously diagnose HIV and syphilis with sensitivities and specificities that rival those of reference benchtop assays. Unlike most current rapid tests, the mChip test does not require user interpretation of the signal. Overall, we demonstrate an integrated strategy for miniaturizing complex laboratory assays using microfluidics and nanoparticles to enable POC diagnostics and early detection of infectious diseases in remote settings.

Microfluidics at the crossroad with point-of-care diagnostics.

Microfluidic devices have been long advertised as a key candidate to revolutionize point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. Recent advances in this field have addressed some of the most important issues, which limited the deployment of microfluidic devices outside of clinical laboratories. This contribution discusses important technical and economic constraints that microfluidic products must overcome to be adopted by healthcare systems. Two sets of technologies are described which comply with the constraints of the POC environment. As such, these technologies illustrate a possible route for the development of microfluidic devices, which could fulfil the needs of clinicians for disease staging and monitoring.

Microfluidics/CMOS orthogonal capabilities for cell biology.

The study of individual cells and cellular networks can greatly benefit from the capabilities of microfabricated devices for the stimulation and the recording of electrical cellular events. In this contribution, we describe the development of a device, which combines capabilities for both electrical and pharmacological cell stimulation, and the subsequent recording of electrical cellular activity. The device combines the unique advantages of integrated circuitry (CMOS technology) for signal processing and microfluidics for drug delivery. Both techniques are ideally suited to study electrogenic mammalian cells, because feature sizes are of the same order as the cell diameter, approximately 50 microm. Despite these attractive features, we observe a size mismatch between microfluidic devices, with bulky fluidic connections to the outside world, and highly miniaturized CMOS chips. To overcome this problem, we developed a microfluidic flow cell that accommodates a small CMOS chip. We simulated the performances of a flow cell based on a 3-D microfluidic system, and then fabricated the device to experimentally verify the nutrient delivery and localized drug delivery performance. The flow-cell has a constant nutrient flow, and six drug inlets that can individually deliver a drug to the cells. The experimental analysis of the nutrient and drug flow mass transfer properties in the flowcell are in good agreement with our simulations. For an experimental proof-of-principle, we successfully delivered, in a spatially resolved manner, a 'drug' to a culture of HL-1 cardiac myocytes.

Reagent-loaded cartridges for valveless and automated fluid delivery in microfluidic devices.

An important problem in the life sciences and in health care is simple and rapid detection of biomarkers. Although microfluidic devices are potentially useful in addressing this problem, current techniques for automating fluid delivery--which include valves and electroosmosis--require sophisticated microfabrication of the chip, bulky instrumentation, or both. In this paper, we describe a simple and reliable technique for storing and delivering a sequence of reagents to a microfluidic device. The technique is low-cost, requires minimal user intervention, and can be performed in resource-poor settings (e.g., outside of a laboratory) in the absence of electricity and computer-controlled equipment. In this method, cartridges made of commercially available tubing are filled by sequentially injecting plugs of reagents separated by air spacers. The air spacers prevent the reagents from mixing with each other during cartridge preparation, storage, and usage. As an example, we used this "plug-in cartridge" technology to complete a solid-phase immunoassay in a microchannel in 2 min with low-nanomolar sensitivity and demonstrate the diagnosis of HIV in 13 min.

Space- and time-resolved spectrophotometry in microsystems.

This work describes a simple optical method for obtaining, in a single still-capture image, the continuous absorbance spectra of samples at multiple locations of microsystems. This technique uses an unmodified bright-field microscope, an array of microlenses, and a diffraction grating to disperse the light transmitted by samples of 10- to 500-microm dimensions. By analyzing in a single image the first-order diffracted light, it is possible to collect the full and continuous absorbance spectra of samples at multiple locations (to a spatial resolution of approximately 8 microm) in microwells and microchannels to examine dynamic chemical events (to a time resolution of <10 ms). This article also discusses the optical basis of this method. The simultaneous resolution of wavelength, time, and space at a scale <10 microm provides additional capabilities for chemical and biological analysis.