Lateral Flow Device for Brain Damage Biomarker Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic and prognostic tools for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke are limited, particularly for field evaluation, and existing biomarkers are unable to quickly differentiate between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, leading to delayed treatment and potential underuse of thrombolytic therapy.
Innovation Solution
The use of visinin-like proteins (VILIPs) as biomarkers, measurable in biological samples, to diagnose and prognose brain damage, with a lateral flow device for rapid detection, allowing for timely identification of brain injury severity and type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If non-contrast CT is used for initial TBI diagnosis, then availability and speed are improved, but sensitivity for diffuse injury and mild TBI deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces biochemical markers (S100B, GFAP, UCH-L1) as intermediary substances that mediate between the brain injury condition and the diagnostic measurement. These markers are released into circulation following brain injury and can be detected in blood samples, providing a bridge that allows rapid detection of diffuse and mild injuries that CT cannot visualize directly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/radiological imaging system (CT scan) with a biochemical detection system. Instead of using X-rays and complex imaging processing to detect brain injury, the system uses biochemical assays to detect specific proteins and markers in the blood, substituting a simpler, faster, and more sensitive detection mechanism.
2Measurement precision
If MRI is used to detect hematomas and ischemic events, then detection sensitivity is improved, but feasibility and speed in field evaluation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the diagnostic function from the complex MRI system and relocates it to a portable field setting. By identifying specific biochemical markers that can be measured in blood samples and developing field-deployable detection methods (such as lateral flow assays), the diagnostic capability is extracted from the hospital imaging environment and made available at the point of injury.
Solution Approach 2:
The biochemical markers serve as intermediaries that carry information about brain injury from the brain tissue to the circulation system, where they can be accessed and measured in field settings without requiring advanced imaging equipment. This intermediary approach enables sensitive detection of brain injury in resource-limited environments.
3Reliability
If t-PA is administered within the therapeutic window, then neurologic outcomes are improved, but risk of hemorrhagic stroke treatment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary diagnostic action to differentiate between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke before treatment is administered. By measuring biochemical markers (such as S100B and GFAP) that are released into circulation following brain injury, the system provides preliminary information about the presence and extent of brain damage, enabling clinicians to make informed decisions about appropriate treatment and avoid harmful interventions in hemorrhagic stroke patients.
Data Source
AI summary
The presently-disclosed subject matter includes methods and devices for diagnosing, prognosing, and treating brain damage in a subject, including brain damage caused by stroke or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The methods can comprise providing a sample obtained from the subject, exposing the sample to an antibody selective for a visinin-like protein, detecting the presence of a complex that includes the antibody and the visinin-like protein, and diagnosing and/or prognosing the subject as having brain damage if there is the presence of the complex. Embodied methods can also comprise administering a treatment for brain damage if the subject includes the presence of the visinin-like protein.