Lab-on-a-Chip Can Analyze Blood in Space

A cell-phone-sized blood-count system requiring minute samples is being developed for use by neonatal units as well as by astronauts in space.

The lab-on-a-chip is a miniaturized, portable version of a blood-count machine. On long missions astronauts need the ability to analyze blood samples in real-time to diagnose infection, allergies, anemia, or deficiencies in the immune system. Funded by the U.S. National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI, Houston, TX, USA), researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, Pasadena, CA, USA), the University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA, USA), and IRIS International, Inc. (Chatsworth, CA, USA), are working to create the hand-held device that will provide rapid, accurate appraisals of blood chemistry using very small blood samples.

Presently, the process of assessing blood requires bulky counting machines, trained technicians, and a large amount of blood, so analysis cannot be done in space. Dr. Yu-Chong Tai, professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at Caltech and investigator on Caltech's NSBRI team, said, "In addition to space medicine, the technology could be used in neonatal care since large blood draws are not possible with infants.”

Dr. Tai and his colleagues designed micro-sized pumps and flow chambers that fit together in the lab-on-a chip. The tiny device requires less than a drop of blood in order to identify components such as red and white blood cells, lipids, protein, or oxygen molecules. Eventually the technology will be expanded to assess a variety of molecules in addition to blood, to measure fluids like plasma and urine, or to incorporate cell-surface markers and DNA analysis.

"The chip can be designed for many applications. The miniaturized cell-counter has potential as a diagnostic tool for cancer detection by searching through plasma for certain biomarkers that could be early indicators,” Tai said.



Related Links:
California Institute of Technology
University of California, Los Angeles
IRIS