For reasons not fully understood, space travel seems to suppress the human immune system, enabling bacteria to become heartier and more virulent in microgravity. This is a major problem since aboard the International Space Station, the nearest medical doctor is on the other side of atmospheric reentry. NASA www.nasa.gov realizes the need for more rapid diagnostic testing to be made available to detect and treat health issues both in space and on Earth.
An article in NASA’s 2017 issue of “Spinoff” features the development of fluorescent diagnostic test readers. NASA’s researchers realize that rapid diagnostic tests in space have to be smaller than on Earth since the amount of space for storage is limited. According to Tianna Shaw, Engineer at Ames Research Center, “We don’t currently have lab technologies, that we need to use that are the size that would be acceptable for use in space, at least not on an exploration mission.”
Shaw says, “Blood work normally on Earth involves a few samples being taken and sent to different locations where they are then analyzed using bulky tabletop equipment that would cost a fortune to launch into space.” What Shaw and her colleagues want instead would resemble a home pregnancy test that would be possible for just one small device to produce results within minutes.
She adds, “Handheld rapid diagnostic tests would present several advantages such as speed, low cost, and the fact that the results are available onsite while the patient is present and the tests are also relatively easy to administer.”
To begin developing the devices, two SBIR contracts were awarded to Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) www.intopsys.com to develop fluorescent diagnostic test readers. IOS proposed integrating a sensor platform with a smartphone in order to use the high resolution camera, processing power, and compactness.
IOS envisioned using a lateral flow test strip, which is the same detection technique used in a pregnancy test. IOS specializes in this type of diagnostic testing plus other products, but to build the smartphone interface, the company turned to Los Angeles-based Holomic LLC, now called Cellmic www.cellmic.com. The two companies worked together to ensure that the tests and reader would be compatible and were able to deliver the test.
The software used in the device is flexible and can be programmed according to the test developer’s needs and test results can then be transmitted to a central database. In the case of a disease outbreak, the readers on the device would end up mapping cases of the illness so the spread of diseases could be monitored.
In the future, Cellmic plans to devise a reader that can automatically adjust to analyze test results in both the visible and ultraviolet ranges. NASA plans to continue to help fund further development in this area.
Go to https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2017/pdf/spinoff2017.pdf to view the article appearing in “NASA 2017 Spinoff” describing projects that have been developed in their technology transfer programs.