Tiny invention detects heart attacks in minutes, potentially saving lives
In a major breakthrough, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a revolutionary invention that can diagnose heart attacks in a matter of minutes. The blood test could be used by first responders or even at home. "Heart attacks require immediate medical intervention in order to improve patient outcomes," said Peng Zheng, the lead author of the study and an assistant research scientist at the university.
Biophotonics: The science behind the invention
The innovative tool is based on biophotonics, a field that employs laser light to detect biomarkers or biological responses to different conditions (diseases). Zheng and his colleague, Ishan Barman, used this technology to detect early signs of heart attacks in blood samples. Even though heart attacks affect over 800,000 people every year in the US alone, they are notoriously difficult to diagnose.
A leap forward in heart attack diagnosis
Currently, suspected heart attack patients are subjected to a series of tests, including electrocardiograms and blood tests. The latter can take more than an hour to produce results and may even have to be repeated. However, the new standalone blood test developed by Zheng's team produces results in just five to seven minutes. Not only is it faster, but also more accurate and cost-effective than existing methods.
Potential for field use and home testing
The researchers think their invention could be tweaked into a handheld device for first responders or even for self-testing at home. "In the future, we hope this could be made into a handheld instrument like a Star Trek tricorder where you have a drop of blood and then, voila, in a few seconds you have detection," said Barman. This could revolutionize emergency medical response and personal health monitoring.
Innovative chip at the core of the invention
At the heart of this game-changing invention is a minuscule chip, with a unique nanostructured surface for blood testing. The chip's "metasurface" amplifies electric and magnetic signals during Raman spectroscopy analysis, allowing heart attack biomarkers to be detected in seconds, even at extremely low concentrations. This sensitivity is way better than current tests that could either miss these biomarkers or detect them much later during an attack.
