The health of a patient’s immune system can be rapidly gauged with a lab-on-a-chip device engineered at The lab-on-a-chip system identifies the health of a person’s immune system from a drop of their blood within minutes. Source: Nanyang Technological University SingaporeNational Technological University Singapore. By detecting electrical differences between healthy and unhealthy white blood cells, the diagnostic can signal early indicators of cardiovascular disease, inflammation or infection.

After blood cells are separated by size in the microfluidic chip, white blood cells are directed through a special channel where electrical impedance is measured at a rate of hundreds of cells per second. An abnormal cell typically has a higher impedance relative to healthy cells due to its larger size and altered membrane characteristics.

Fabricated with a common medical-grade polymer, the lab-on-a-chip is designed to be manufactured using existing machinery and off-the-shelf components. The researchers envision production of portable, point-of-care devices for application in different clinical settings.

Additional research will be conducted to form a reference library for automated analysis. A clear delineation of the health implications of different electrical impedance levels can help speed decisions about specific therapies.