I-Corps: Disposable Microflow Cytometer for Point-of-Care and Mobile Testing

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project arises from the lack of diagnostic/prognostic flow cytometry platforms that are small and mobile enough to be employed at the point-of-care. The technology takes the recognized diagnostics capability, accuracy, and market acceptance of flow cytometry and places it where real-time testing can impact decision making. Such a platform can potentially be both lifesaving and cost-effective in the long run due to enabling rapid triage or early diagnosis. Patients as well as clinicians and researchers working on the discovery of new drugs and protein engineering would potentially significantly benefit from this technology. Furthermore, a portable platform can pave the way for new specialized diagnostic tests that can be performed at a doctor's office, in mobile settings, or even in disaster-relief scenarios.This I-Corps project will further develop a portable and disposable cytometry platform. The technology monitors the trajectories of magnetically labeled cells on a microfluidic chip and uses computational modeling to estimate their membrane antigen expression. This projectile-based cytometry technique takes the burden of sample discrimination off the sensor, making it possible to choose an optimal sensing modality for system integration and data acquisition. The integrated yet disposable electrical flow cytometer works as simply as a Coulter counter while measuring the target surface antigen or other biomarkers that otherwise could not directly be analyzed electrically. Furthermore, the technology embeds the sample manipulation stage into the cytometry process, opening a path for direct expression profiling from unprocessed samples.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.