Cost-effective and rapid blood analysis on a cell-phone

Lab Chip. 2013 Apr 7;13(7):1282-8. doi: 10.1039/c3lc41408f.

Abstract

We demonstrate a compact and cost-effective imaging cytometry platform installed on a cell-phone for the measurement of the density of red and white blood cells as well as hemoglobin concentration in human blood samples. Fluorescent and bright-field images of blood samples are captured using separate optical attachments to the cell-phone and are rapidly processed through a custom-developed smart application running on the phone for counting of blood cells and determining hemoglobin density. We evaluated the performance of this cell-phone based blood analysis platform using anonymous human blood samples and achieved comparable results to a standard bench-top hematology analyser. Test results can either be stored on the cell-phone memory or be transmitted to a central server, providing remote diagnosis opportunities even in field settings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Blood Cell Count / economics*
  • Blood Cell Count / instrumentation*
  • Blood Chemical Analysis / economics*
  • Blood Chemical Analysis / instrumentation*
  • Cell Count
  • Cell Phone*
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Erythrocyte Count
  • Hemoglobins / analysis
  • Humans
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Point-of-Care Systems
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Hemoglobins