Negative Sorting of Microfluidic Streams for Rapid Infection Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting infectious diseases are expensive, complex, time-intensive, and often require multiple tests, making widespread screening infeasible, especially for asymptomatic individuals, and are ineffective for novel pathogens.
Innovation Solution
A method using a microfluidic particle sorter to produce a negatively sorted stream from which larger particles are removed, allowing analysis of smaller particles of interest without direct manipulation, enabling low-cost, rapid detection of infections by analyzing the negatively sorted stream using simple techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional testing methods (PCR, culture, antigen tests) are used to detect infectious diseases, then detection accuracy is improved, but cost, complexity, and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and isolates specific biological markers (proteins, nucleic acids, or metabolites) associated with infectious diseases from complex biological samples. By focusing detection on these extracted markers rather than attempting to detect entire pathogens or complex disease states, the system achieves high detection accuracy while simplifying the overall testing process and reducing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces intermediary biological markers (proteins, nucleic acids, metabolites) that serve as mediators between the pathogen and the detection system. These markers are easier to detect directly than the pathogens themselves, enabling accurate disease detection through simplified assays that measure marker concentration or presence rather than requiring complex pathogen isolation and identification
2Measurement precision
If conventional testing methods are used for widespread screening, then detection accuracy is maintained, but time consumption and resource requirements make large-scale testing infeasible
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs detection systems that require minimal operator intervention and automation. The assays are designed to be self-contained with built-in controls and automated readout capabilities, enabling high-throughput screening where many samples can be processed simultaneously with minimal human resources, thereby maintaining accuracy while dramatically increasing screening capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the detection parameters from detecting complex pathogen structures or functions to measuring simple quantitative parameters such as marker concentration, fluorescence intensity, or electrical signals. This parameter transformation enables rapid, automated measurement that can be scaled to process thousands of samples efficiently while maintaining detection accuracy through standardized quantitative assays
3Measurement precision
If specific disease tests are designed for known pathogens, then detection specificity is improved, but the ability to detect novel or emerging diseases is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention develops a universal detection platform that can identify multiple types of infectious agents (viruses, bacteria, parasites) through common biological markers. The system uses broad-spectrum detection methods that can adapt to different pathogens by detecting conserved molecular features or general inflammatory responses, enabling a single test to screen for both known and novel diseases while maintaining reasonable specificity through pattern recognition and differential diagnosis
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
Enables low-cost, rapid screening for various infections, including novel pathogens, by detecting the presence of viral or bacterial particles on individuals, facilitating early intervention and public health measures.
Implementation Method 1
as the size of the target particle decreases, the fluid pressure required to operate the system rapidly increases. This limits the usefulness of the known technology for sorting very small particles
Implementation Method 2
passing a fluid through a negative sorting device that produces a negatively sorted stream of the fluid from which particles present in the fluid that are above a threshold size have been removed
Data Source
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AI summary
A method comprising passing a fluid through a negative sorting device. The negative sorting device produces a negatively sorted stream of the fluid from which any particles present in the fluid that are above a threshold size have been removed. The negatively sorted stream is analyzed to obtain a measure of a concentration of particles of interest in the negatively sorted stream. The particles of interest have a size that is less than or equal to the threshold size.