New blood cell technology awarded at international conference

New blood cell technology awarded at international conference

The researchers Rui Martins and Filipe Santos are part of the team that developed a portable clinical analysis technology that provides results in milliseconds.

27th August 2021

The paper describing the technology won the “Best Contribution Award” at the first edition of the Electronic Conference on Chemical Sensors.  

According to Rui Martins, a researcher at the Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP), the new device and algorithms present a new class of Point-of-Care technology. This solution resorts solely to light and the advanced information processing, resulting from the interaction between light and the sample’s molecules. Thanks to its immediate, convenient, and minimally invasive nature, it can be used in both routine and inpatient contexts, as well as in emergency and critical care situations. The portable device developed at INESC TEC is the size of a mobile phone and allows for clinical analysis of blood, serum, and urine with just a single drop, with readings and results obtained in milliseconds. 

“This device and its technology are a revolutionary step towards the existence of reagent-free systems based on smart photonics,” added Rui Martins. 

As to the technology that won the award, it demonstrates the total white blood cell counts at inpatient settings, in veterinary medicine. The device is described in the paper “Feasibility of Total White Blood Cells Counts by Visible-Near Infrared Spectroscopy”.  

In addition to INESC TEC, the awarded team includes Teresa Guerra Barroso, from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário, Lénio Ribeiro from Porto’s Veterinary Hospital Centre and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Universidade Lusófona, and Hugo Gregório, from the same hospital centre. 

The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC.