Compact microscope for early sepsis diagnosis

Researchers from The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona have developed a portable microscope that could dramatically reduce the time for identifying sepsis.

Commonly referred to as ‘blood poisoning’, sepsis kills over 20,000 people per day worldwide, making it more deadly than prostate cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. Current techniques to test for the disease can take up to a day. However, using a combination of photonics technology, microfluidics and molecular biology, the new method can produce a result in just 30 minutes, with the test costing as little as €50 per patient.

The microscope sends polarised beams of light through birefringent crystals, a cartridge containing a blood drop, and an array of receptors. The device is able to detect the interaction of light with the bacteria or proteins captured by the receptors. Physicians can assess the type and quantity of biomarkers present based on the intensity of the transmission image. According to the researchers, the system produces sample-to-result processing up to 50 times quicker than current methods.