Portable filter-based microdevice for detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Sensitive detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is crucial for revolutionizing cancer patient management.
• Current CTC detection methods face limitations in capture efficiency and cell characterization.
• A novel portable microdevice is developed for improved CTC isolation and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel parylene membrane filter-based microdevice for CTC isolation.
• To achieve high recovery rates and enable direct on-chip characterization of captured CTCs.
• To compare the performance of the microdevice with the established CellSearch platform.

Main Methods:

• Evaluation of CTC capture sensitivity and efficiency using spiked blood samples from healthy donors.
• Testing 59 model system samples to determine microdevice recovery rates.
• Direct comparison of the microdevice and CellSearch platform using 10 model system samples and 57 patient blood samples.

Main Results:

• The microdevice demonstrated >90% CTC recovery rate in model systems.
• CTCs were detected in 51 of 57 cancer patients using the microdevice, significantly higher than the 26 detected by CellSearch.
• The microdevice consistently recovered greater numbers of CTCs compared to CellSearch when both methods detected cells.

Conclusions:

• The developed filter-based microdevice serves as an effective capture and analysis platform for CTCs.
• The device supports multiplexed imaging and genetic analysis for comprehensive CTC characterization.
• This technology holds potential for routine clinical CTC analysis, improving cancer patient management.