Readerless Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Viral Load

Roozbeh Ghaffari, Patrick Beattie, Jason Rolland, and Jeff Carbeck of Diagnostics For All & MC10 Inc. in the U.S. sought to develop disposable paper-based diagnostics devices embedded with optoelectronics, allowing quantitative colorimetric analysis for HIV viral load monitoring. This platform addresses practical limitations of current image capture methodologies and eliminates the need for external readers. In Phase I, they built a point-of-care detection device by incorporating ultrathin, flexible electronics onto a paper substrate, and tested its ability to quantify viral load by measuring levels of HIV p24 antigen. Having improved the sensitivity of their colorimetric assay, in Phase II Christina Swanson and her team will develop and test a new class of multiplexed, paper-microfluidic devices called electronics-enabled-Point of Care (E-POC) that can quantitate micronutrient markers from whole blood and transmit the data wirelessly to existing mobile phones equipped with near-field communication.