Joost van Dalum

PhD Student

E-mail: j.vandalum@utwente.nl
Telephone:
+31 53 489 4442
Fax:
+31 53 489 3511
Address:
Faculty of Science and Technology
Medical Cell BioPhysics (MCBP)
Building: Carré
Room: CR4431

Drienerlolaan 5
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands

Project goals

Designing a cheap disposable Point-of-Care (PoC) complete blood count (CBC) test to provide results quickly and reliably without the need for a dedicated laboratory or trained personnel. The CBC has to provide at least the hematocrit value, hemoglobin content, differential white blood cell count and platelet count. The CBC will part of the InstantCount platform.

Complete Blood Count (CBC)

CBCs are one of the first tests attending physicians request when patients present, as such it remains one of the most performed medical examinations.[1] A CBC entails hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin content (Hgb), differential white blood cell count (WBC) and platelet count (PLT). Currently, to perform a CBC multiple laboratory instruments with trained personnel are required.

In an effort to reduce direct and indirect costs a CBC rapid disposable test is designed. The gains are made by reducing the time, space, resources and training required for a CBC test. Through the use of smart design a disposable chip is being developed on which sample preparation & measurement takes place. Areas of interest are the use of simple materials and large construction tolerances in new ways to create a sufficiently sensitive and specific test. Fabrication techniques developed for the CBC test would allow for expansion into other areas such as TB or Malaria to expand the use of the InstantCount platform.

D:\PhD\Documents\Posters\chip.png
Figure 1 Sequential image of the steps involved sample processing. All aplications will require three basic steps: addition of sample fluid, incubation and measurement.

D:\PhD\Instant Count\Data\140616_CASI CD34 CD38 Handcast and Printed\Scatter plot 140616_ICP_CASI_CD38_Sample68_Chamber_1_.png
Figure 2 Scatter plot of whole blood stained with anti-CD3-APC and anti-CD8PerCP on-chip after imaging and automatic counting by the instant count.

1.Hollis, V. S., Holloway, J. a, Harris, S., Spencer, D., van Berkel, C., & Morgan, H. (2012). Comparison of venous and capillary differential leukocyte counts using a standard hematology analyzer and a novel microfluidic impedance cytometer. PloS One, 7(9), e43702. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043702