Circulating Trophoblast Detection for Placenta Accreta Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic modalities for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders are not always conclusive, leading to undiagnosed cases, especially in low-resource settings, and there is a need for a noninvasive approach to detect abnormal placental invasion early in pregnancy.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the isolation and detection of single and clustered circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) from a blood sample using nanostructure-embedded chips, which captures and enumerates these cells to determine the presence of PAS disorders based on predetermined thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current diagnostic modalities (serum analytes, ultrasonography, MRI) are used for PAS detection, then diagnostic capability is provided, but diagnostic conclusiveness and availability in low-resource settings deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the diagnostic function from complex imaging equipment (ultrasound, MRI) and concentrates it into a simple blood-based assay that can be performed in any laboratory setting, making the diagnostic capability portable and accessible to low-resource environments while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces mechanical imaging systems (ultrasound probes, MRI machines) with a biochemical detection system that analyzes circulating trophoblasts in blood samples, substituting complex mechanical diagnostics with a simpler laboratory-based assay that is more adaptable to resource-limited settings
2Measurement precision
If invasive diagnostic procedures are used to detect PAS, then diagnostic accuracy may improve, but patient safety and comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses circulating trophoblasts in maternal blood as an intermediary marker to detect abnormal placental invasion indirectly, avoiding the need for direct invasive procedures while maintaining diagnostic accuracy through noninvasive blood sampling
Solution Approach 2:
The invention detects copies of trophoblast cells that naturally circulate in maternal blood during pregnancy, using these cellular copies as biomarkers to infer placental invasion status without directly examining the placenta or performing invasive procedures
3Reliability
If PAS diagnosis is delayed until later in gestation, then current diagnostic methods may be more reliable, but intervention opportunities and outcomes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables preliminary detection of PAS by measuring circulating trophoblast levels early in pregnancy when they are naturally elevated during normal implantation, allowing diagnosis and intervention planning to occur before the third trimester when current methods become more reliable but intervention opportunities are lost
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for accurate and noninvasive detection of PAS disorders throughout gestation, improving diagnostic accuracy and enabling early intervention, particularly in resource-limited settings, by distinguishing between PAS and normal placentation or placenta previa.
Implementation Method 1
a nanostructure-embedded chip that can capture both single and clustered cTBs
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and kits for isolating at least one of a plurality of single circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) and a plurality of clustered circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) from a blood sample and determining whether a subject has a placenta accrete spectrum (PAS) disorders.