At-Home Heart Attack Detector Provides Results In Minutes, Not Hours

Revolutionary Chip Detects Heart Attack Biomarkers in Minutes

A small chip with a unique surface can accurately detect heart attack blood biomarkers within minutes, a much shorter time than current methods, even when they are present in very low concentrations. The researchers behind the device envision it being used as a home diagnostic tool.

When it comes to heart attacks, time is crucial. The faster the diagnosis, the quicker blood flow can be restored to the heart, minimizing damage and improving patient outcomes. However, heart attack symptoms can vary from person to person, making diagnosis challenging.

Typically, a person with a suspected heart attack arriving at the emergency room undergoes several standard blood tests, including those for the enzyme creatine kinase and the protein troponin, which indicate heart muscle damage. The problem is that it can take one or two hours to get the results from these lab tests.

Johns Hopkins Researchers Develop a Fast-Acting Diagnostic Chip

Now, researchers from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have developed a tiny chip that can diagnose a heart attack by detecting these important biomarkers in minutes rather than hours, even at very low concentrations. They recently published their study.

Heart attacks require immediate medical intervention to improve patient outcomes, but while early diagnosis is critical, it is extremely challenging – and nearly impossible outside a clinical setting, explained Peng Zheng, a research scientist at JHU and lead author of the study. We were able to invent a new technology that quickly and accurately determines if someone is having a heart attack.

The key lies in the chip’s unique ‘metasurface.The researchers first arrange a layer of polystyrene beads in a hexagonal pattern on a quartz substrate. Then, they deposit alternating layers of gold and silica into the gaps between the beads, which they later remove, leaving nanosized pyramid-like stacks of gold and silica.

How the Chip Uses Raman Spectroscopy for Fast Detection

The combination of gold and silica boosts the chip’s electric and magnetic fields, enhancing Raman spectroscopy’s ability to analyze blood by using light to interact with chemical bonds.

The chip detected heart attack biomarkers within seconds, even at ultra-low concentrations. The device identified biomarkers before current tests could detect them or much later during a heart attack.

We’re talking about speed, accuracy, and the ability to perform measurements outside of a hospital,” said Ishan Barman, a bioengineer from JHU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. We hope to create a handheld device in the future, similar to a Star Trek tricorder, where you can detect results from just a drop of blood within seconds.

The researchers clearly envision a future where people will use this heart attack detector at home. They also point out that researchers can adapt the proof-of-concept device to test for cancer and infectious diseases.

There’s enormous commercial potential, said Barman. There’s nothing that limits this platform technology.

Read the origibal article on: New Atlas

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