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Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation

Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation - Poster Session D

Poster F10 - Point-of-Care Device for ABO Blood Typing via Capillary Action

Friday, October 25, 2024
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction:  Proper blood transfusion in emergency medical situations is critical to ensuring patient survival. The high mortality rate associated with improper blood type matching makes the ABO-Rh system crucial in emergency care. Most of the conventional approaches to ABO blood type testing require expensive materials, large blood volumes, and extensive training [1]. Additionally, these methods are time-consuming and cannot be performed rapidly on-site or in developing countries. Our research looks to create a paper-based solution that is cost-effective, portable, requires minimal resources and training, and delivers results that are "ASSURED" as defined by the World Health Organization – Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid, Equipment-free, Deliverable. This investigation uses two distinct filter membrane housing models, as seen in Figure 1a, to develop a point-of-care diagnostic blood type test, reliant on the agglutination of red blood cells (RBCs) in the presence of anti-A, anti-B, and/or anti-Rh antibodies. Both variants contain a well from which four channels travel outward either in parallel or perpendicular directions. The blood introduced into the well flows via capillary action through the filter membrane channels, each coated with one of the previously mentioned antibodies. As the blood flows through the membrane, the antigens on the patient’s RBCs will potentially react with the corresponding dried antibodies. A positive agglutination results in either the visual separation of fluid or complete stoppage of flow allowing the user to identify the blood type of the sample.

Materials and

Methods:  Three of the membrane channels were each submerged in an aqueous suspension of antibodies A, B, or Rh, while the fourth channel remained as a control. The channels were left to dry for approximately 10 minutes. Once dry, the membrane was placed into a prototype test device, sandwiched between two acrylic sheets, while allowing a “tab” of the membrane to be submerged in a central well.
Using a micropipette, 150 µL of diluted A positive blood solution containing 120 µL of blood and 30 µL of Plasmalyte was introduced to the well. Another acrylic slide was placed on top of the membrane, ensuring that it and the well were no longer open to the air. Both acrylic slides were clamped together to place pressure and hold the membrane in place. The blood was allowed to travel through the membrane via capillary action for approximately 30 minutes, while progress was photographed at 5-minute intervals.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: Blood generally flows through all channels and there is often a clear separation indicating that the red cells are not able to pass through the membrane due to agglutination caused by the dried antibodies. However, the results have been inconsistent, with occasional false positives and inconclusive tests. Figures 2a and 2b show the results of one parallel and perpendicular flow test with A+ blood. Both of these tests show visible separation in the anti-A and anti-Rh channels, as well as an unexpected reaction in the anti-B channel. This would suggest that the blood type of the sample is AB-positive, which contradicts the known blood type of the sample. Traditional methods have confirmed the function of the antibodies and previous uniplex designs have successfully identified samples, indicating that the error stems from the current iterations of the multichannel models. Further modifications to the multiplex designs are ongoing to minimize the false positive reactions, increase the flow speed through the membrane, and evenly distribute blood flow through all four channels. Our goals for the future are to quantify the sensitivity and specificity of the results, as well as continue to optimize the multichannel design to reflect the “gold standard” results achieved by uniplex membrane models.

Acknowledgements (Optional):  We would like to thank Dr. Mejad Refaai, Hannah Spector, Bianca Santonastaso, as well as Anya Bhargava who has worked on this project as a volunteer.