Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Microfluidic Platform for Measuring Neutrophil Chemotaxis from Unprocessed Whole Blood
Published on: June 3, 2014
A point-of-care microfluidic biochip for quantification of CD64 expression from whole blood for sepsis stratification
U Hassan1,2,3, T Ghonge1,3, B Reddy2,3
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1270 Digital Computer Laboratory, 1304 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Insights
A new microfluidic biochip offers rapid point-of-care sepsis diagnosis by measuring leukocyte counts and neutrophil CD64 expression (nCD64) from a small blood sample, improving patient monitoring and diagnostic accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Clinical Diagnostics
- Infectious Disease Research
Background:
- Sepsis is a global health crisis with high mortality and healthcare costs.
- Accurate early sepsis diagnosis relies on leukocyte counts and neutrophil CD64 expression (nCD64).
- Existing diagnostic methods lack rapid, point-of-care (PoC) capabilities for these biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel PoC microfluidic biochip for rapid enumeration of leukocytes and quantification of nCD64.
- To validate the biochip's performance against established laboratory methods.
- To assess the clinical utility of the biochip for sepsis diagnosis and patient monitoring.
Main Methods:
- A microfluidic biochip was designed to process 10 μl of whole blood without manual intervention.
- Leukocyte counts and nCD64 levels were measured using the developed PoC device.
- Biochip results were correlated with flow cytometry standards.
- Clinical studies involved monitoring patients' leukocyte counts and nCD64 levels throughout their hospital stay.
Main Results:
- The PoC biochip demonstrated excellent correlation with flow cytometry measurements.
- The device successfully enumerated leukocytes and quantified nCD64 from minimal blood volumes.
- Clinical data showed the biochip's effectiveness in tracking biomarker changes over time.
- Integration with electronic medical records (EMR) enhanced sepsis diagnostic capabilities.
Conclusions:
- The developed PoC microfluidic biochip provides a rapid and accurate method for sepsis-related biomarker analysis.
- This technology has significant potential for improving early sepsis detection and patient management.
- Combining biochip measurements with EMR data offers a powerful tool for enhanced clinical decision-making in sepsis care.
Abstract:
Sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection, has the highest burden of death and medical expenses in hospitals worldwide. Leukocyte count and CD64 expression on neutrophils (nCD64) are known to correlate strongly with improved sensitivity and specificity of sepsis diagnosis at its onset. A major challenge is the lack of a rapid and accurate point-of-care (PoC) device that can perform these measurements from a minute blood sample. Here, we report a PoC microfluidic biochip to enumerate leukocytes and quantify nCD64 levels from 10 μl of whole blood without any manual processing. Biochip measurements have shown excellent correlation with the results from flow cytometer. In clinical studies, we have used PoC biochip to monitor leukocyte counts and nCD64 levels from patients' blood at different times of their stay in the hospital. Furthermore, we have shown the biochip's utility for improved sepsis diagnosis by combining these measurements with electronic medical record (EMR).
