Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

AI-Based Device Detects Moving Parasites

December 20, 2018 By Amy Akmal, UCLA

Scientists typically diagnose parasitic infections by scanning bodily fluid samples with optical microscopes. But that conventional approach sometimes doesn’t work — for example, if the concentration of parasites in the sample is too low, or if the microscope’s imaging capabilities lack the sensitivity to detect disease early on.

In addition, since a small drop of blood can contain billions of blood cells, identifying parasites in a sample is like finding a needle in a haystack.

To overcome these obstacles, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering researchers have developed a device that automatically detects moving parasites within a sample, enabling infections to be identified earlier than they often would be with microscopes.

The device can analyze more than 3 milliliters of fluid in 20 minutes — much faster than traditional imaging. And it is capable of detecting 10 parasites per milliliter of whole blood, a quantity about five times greater than current methods can detect.

The development of the device was led by Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA Chancellor’s Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, along with Kent Hill, a UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. Their research is described in a paper published in Light: Science & Applications.

The device illuminates a sample with laser light and records high-frame-rate videos of the holographic patterns generated by the fluid. Then, a motion analysis algorithm converts the locomotion of the target parasites into a visual signal, which enables the device to detect and count the number of parasites using artificial intelligence.

“The platform is like a motion detector for the microscopic world because of its ability to lock onto any moving objects in a fluid sample,” said Yibo Zhang, a UCLA doctoral student and the study’s first author. “Locomotion is used as both a biomarker and a contrast mechanism to distinguish parasites from normal cells.”

The engineers tested the technology to identify a blood-borne parasite called Trypanosoma, which causes sleeping sickness and Chagas disease; and Trichomonas vaginalis, which causes a sexually transmitted disease, trichomoniasis.

“Due to its high sensitivity, ease of use, low cost and portability, our device can improve parasite screening efforts, especially in resource-poor areas and regions where infections are endemic,” said Hatice Ceylan Koydemir, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar and co-author of the study.

The device is compact and weighs less than 4 pounds. Ozcan said the cost to build the prototype was less than $1,850, but that it could be manufactured for less than $800 in larger volumes.  

“Although motility is a common feature of various parasites and other disease-causing microorganisms, its use as a fingerprint for diagnosis is highly underexplored,” Ozcan said. “Our research provides unique results that highlight this opportunity.”

Related Articles Read More >

A portrait of Stryker executive Siddarth Satish
How Stryker includes users for product design in the digital age
A Medtronic HVAD pump opened up to show the inner workings
Medtronic investigates HVAD pump welds after patient deaths
Galien Foundation 2022 nominees
18 of the world’s most innovative medical technologies
Biotronik
FDA approves Biotronik’s programmer for implanted cardiac rhythm management devices

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 13, 2022
Our Pre-Post-DeviceTalks Boston episode, also MedtronicTalks replay with Gastro CMO Austin Chiang
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech