Claros Diagnostics has received regulatory approval from the EU for a new microfluidic point-of-care instrument that measures PSA levels from a finger prick within 15 minutes allowing monitoring of prostrate cancer patients.
The business end of the machine is a $1 credit card sized, injection moulded, microfluidic cartridge that accepts a small drop of blood and is then inserted into a special reader. Captured proteins are tagged with gold nanoparticles and then developed in a silver solution to form silver plated particles which are easily read by a photodetector. PSA levels are then reported within about 15 minutes of sample input with an accuracy similar to laboratory tests.
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Microfluidics allows the delivery of rapid results indicate Claros Diagnostics, who aim to make point-of-care PSA monitoring in the doctor’s office a reality. The device recently received EU Regulatory approval and is seeking approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Although microfluidics has been a field of scientific endeavour for over 20 years we have not seen full commercialisation of this technology outside the research setting” said Harp Minhas (Editor of the leading journal on micro- and nanofluidics, Lab on a Chip). “However, I have seen evidence that in the next two to three years there are likely to be a flurry of similar point-of-use products that will aim to capture related or overlapping markets.”
