Paper-Based Microfluidic Analytical Device Patterned by Label Printer for Point-of-Care Blood Glucose and Hematocrit...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Background:

• Accurate monitoring of blood glucose and hematocrit is crucial for managing various health conditions.
• Existing point-of-care (POC) systems can be expensive or lack simultaneous detection capabilities.
• There is a need for cost-effective, portable, and reliable diagnostic tools for decentralized healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a portable, low-cost POC system for simultaneous blood glucose and hematocrit detection.
• To utilize origami microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) and smartphone technology for enhanced diagnostics.
• To improve the accuracy and reliability of POC measurements by mitigating ambient light interference.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of origami μPADs using a cost-effective label printing technique for plasma separation and reaction.
• Development of a 3D-printed cassette integrating LED illumination for smartphone-based detection.
• Quantitative determination of hematocrit via plasma wicking distance and blood glucose via colorimetric reaction analysis using RGB software.

Main Results:

• The system demonstrated accurate blood glucose assessment within the range of 45-630 mg/dL (R² = 0.9958).
• Simultaneous detection showed minimal differential compared to commercial meters: ≤6.4% for glucose and ≤9.1% for hematocrit.
• The platform proved practical feasibility in analyzing human whole blood samples.

Conclusions:

• The proposed origami μPAD-based system offers a promising solution for simultaneous, cost-effective blood glucose and hematocrit monitoring.
• The integration of smartphone technology and optimized μPAD design enhances POC diagnostic capabilities.
• This technology has the potential to significantly improve accessibility to reliable health monitoring in resource-limited settings.