On-the-spot blood analysis

A handheld device which could offer point-of-care blood cell analysis in doctors’ surgeries is being developed by academics at the University of Southampton.

A team led by Professor Hywel Morgan at the University’s Nano Research Group within the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) in conjunction with Professor Donna Davies and Dr Judith Holloway at the School of Medicine, has developed a microfluidic single-cell impedance cytometer that performs a white cell differential count. The system was developed in collaboration with Philips Research.

The chip within the device uses microfluidics - a set of technologies that control the flow of minute amounts of liquids - to measure a number of different cells in the blood. The microfluidic set-up uses miniaturised electrodes inside a small channel. The electrical properties of each blood cell are measured as the blood flows through the device. From these measurements it is possible to distinguish and count the different types of cell, providing information used in the diagnosis of numerous diseases. The system which can identify the three main types of white blood cells: T lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils is claimed to be faster and cheaper than current methods.