Multimode smartphone biosensing: the transmission, reflection, and intensity spectral (TRI)-analyzer.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Spectroscopy
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Background:

• Conventional laboratory diagnostic equipment is often expensive and inaccessible in point-of-care settings.
• There is a need for portable, cost-effective analytical instruments for rapid disease detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a smartphone-integrated handheld instrument for diverse spectroscopic measurements.
• To demonstrate the instrument's utility in point-of-care maternal and infant health assays.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a smartphone camera as a high-resolution spectrometer.
• Integrated smartphone LED and laser diode for illumination of microfluidic cartridges.
• Employed optical fibers and a diffraction grating to capture spectral data.
• Developed software for automated spectral analysis from microfluidic chambers.

Main Results:

• Successfully measured colorimetric absorption, fluorescence emission, and resonant reflection spectra.
• Demonstrated comparable limits of detection to laboratory microplate readers for fetal fibronectin and phenylalanine assays.
• Validated the system for point-of-care (POC) applications in maternal and infant health.

Conclusions:

• The smartphone-integrated instrument offers a flexible platform for translating existing biosensing assays to POC settings.
• This technology enables rapid, simple, and accessible diagnostic testing.
• The system shows significant potential for improving maternal and infant healthcare outcomes.