Device for examining baby liver function with stamp

The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine last September.

Tuberculosis treatment with rifampicin and pyrazinamide can damage the liver, especially in people with both hepatitis B and C, which are very common in Asia. Similarly, nevirapine-based drugs for HIV patients are also very harmful to the liver. While US physicians routinely check the level of blood chemistry to determine if a patient has liver damage due to the drug and adjust the medication accordingly, doctors in those countries Developers are less likely to test this.

At present, scientists are developing and testing a stamp-sized paper device with grooves and compartments that can extract and filter blood from the finger to find chemical indicators.

Examination of blood samples with this device produces about 90% accuracy over the gold standard of 100%. It only takes 15 minutes for the device to discolor and can indicate liver or kidney counts at normal or high. The estimated cost for each test is only about 10 cents, compared to the cost of thousands of dollars of existing equipment. Jason Rolland, research director at Diagnostics For All, said the device was cheap, easy to use, easy to carry, no power or attached equipment needed. other. It is therefore very suitable for district hospitals.

Usually in rural areas, to test the liver function of the patient, the hospital must send blood samples to the upper level hospitals should be easily lost. This device contributes to solve this problem thoroughly.

Nira Pollock, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in the United States, arranges a trial and is contacting the Vietnam Tropical Hospital to test the device on HIV-infected patients. If the test is successful, researchers hope to bring the product to market in 2014.