Development of a Laser-Based Technology for Rapid Point of Care Diagnosis of Blood-borne Infections

Summary The objective of this research is to develop a laser based method of analysis into a point of care blood diagnostic to detect blood infected by viruses bacteria and parasites Such an instrument will not require highly specialized training and will provide rapid identification of the contamination once a blood sample is introduced for analysis Preliminary investigations in partnership with the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and TriCore Reference Laboratories indicates that Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy LIBS combined with advanced mathematical and statistical analysis techniques has this potential The work being proposed is to extend these investigations to better understand the spectroscopic signals contributing to the differentiation of Herpes Simplex Virus HIV Staphylococcus aureus and Trypanosoma cruzi in human blood and means of enhancing these signals to build a reliable detection algorithm deployable on instrument for point of care diagnosis Project Narrative The ability to detect and diagnose blood borne infections is an important capability for both patient treatment and for ensuring the safety of the nation s donor blood supply Today a diagnosis typically takes hours or more to complete and requires the use of highly skilled personnel The ability to rapidly diagnose blood borne infections such that the analysis results are available in a matter of minutes or even a matter of a few hours would greatly enhance the ability to identify contain and treat blood borne infections and to more rapidly release donor blood for use