Portable quantitative detection of serum total cholesterol using smartphone-based image colorimetry

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Medical Diagnostics
• Mobile Health Technology

Background:

• Traditional biochemical testing for lipids faces limitations including fixed sites, specialized equipment, and lengthy turnaround times, impacting patient compliance.
• Routine lipid management requires accessible and efficient monitoring solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, rapid, and low-cost method for Total Cholesterol (TC) detection.
• To enable high-throughput parallel processing of multiple samples for lipid management.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mobile phone camera to synchronously identify RGB values of multiple pixels for TC detection.
• Evaluated performance indicators against a fully automated clinical biochemical analyzer.
• Adhered strictly to National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards guidelines.

Main Results:

• TC concentration demonstrated a strong quantitative correlation with the green channel intensity (G-value).
• The smartphone-based method achieved detection precision and accuracy meeting clinical standards.
• Satisfactory linearity was observed over 1.19-8.49 mmol/L, with results consistent with automated analyzers.

Conclusions:

• The novel method integrates low cost and high efficiency for Total Cholesterol (TC) detection.
• This approach holds significant potential for primary healthcare institutions and resource-limited remote areas.
• The technology facilitates improved accessibility for routine lipid monitoring.