Health Diagnostics

David Beebe and researchers at the University of Wisconsin in the U.S. propose to develop a "universal" sample purification platform that readily adapts to various upstream collection components and utilizes an immiscible phase (e.g. oil, wax) barrier to produce a "clean" sample for output to downstream amplification and detection components.

Rick Haselton, David Wright and Ray Mernaugh of Vanderbilt University in the U.S. propose to develop a sample processing technology that uses the surface tension between fluids as valves to separate, concentrate, and purify pathogen biomarkers. The proposed device aims to improve on existing biomarker extraction technologies in cost, simplicity, and speed.

Rebecca Richards-Kortum and Tomasz Tkaczyk of Rice University in the U.S. propose to develop a plug-and-sense read-out and signal transduction (ROST) component for point-of-care devices that will be palm-sized, producible for under $10, and with new interrogation units can be rearranged within the universal fixture to accommodate new sample platforms.

Luke Lee of the University of California, Berkeley in the U.S. proposes to develop a microfluidic sample preparation module using electrical and physical methods that will be compatible with different sample inputs and downstream analytical techniques to provide both plasma and cellular biomarkers for the parallel diagnoses of infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. The device will not require external reagents, will have low power consumption, and can be operated on-site with minimal training.

Ann Vinckier and colleagues at QIAGEN in the U.S. propose to further improve their commercially available small fluorescence tube scanner for its use at the point-of-care in developing countries, and also investigate probe-based isothermal amplification technologies for the development of fast, sensitive, specific and robust detection of nucleic acids in point-of-care diagnostic tools.

Andrew Ellington of the University of Texas at Austin in the U.S. proposes to improve enzyme-free DNA circuits by engineering circuit sensitivity and selectivity, ultimately creating multi-layered circuits that greatly amplify signal inputs. These robust amplifiers could be modularly introduced into a variety of point-of-care diagnostics.

Ross Durland and colleagues at AM Biotechnologies, LLC in the U.S. propose to develop X-aptamers for detecting and quantifying protein biomarkers for neglected diseases. X-aptamers are modified nucleic acids that tightly bind to specific targets and remain stable at high temperature and humidity. AM Biotech will enhance its process for rapidly identifying X-aptamers that will be integrated into a point-of-care platform for diagnosing many diseases.

Donald Chickering and a team at Seventh Sense Biosystems in the U.S. are developing its Touch Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) platform to enable one-step blood collection in a safe, painless, and convenient manner. The device uses an integrated system of microneedles and vacuum capture of a blood sample for downstream analysis. TAP has the potential to expand access to diagnostic testing into underserved and hard-to-sample populations, while also improving safety and ease of collection.

Robert (Bruce) Cary of Mesa Tech International, Inc. in the U.S. proposes to develop nucleic acid purification systems that use a novel configuration of lateral flow materials to bind and wash nucleic acids to yield amplification-ready samples. These devices could provide purified samples from clinical specimens within minutes without user intervention, instrumentation, electricity or costly materials.

Antonio Campos-Neto of The Forsyth Institute in the U.S. along with collaborators Nira Pollock of The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and David Duffy of Quanterix Corporation, seek to validate seven M. tuberculosis proteins found in the urine of tuberculosis patients as biomarkers of active disease. The ultimate goal is to use the most promising markers to develop a non-invasive point-of-care test, which could be similar to a simple home-pregnancy test.