Towards early hemolysis detection: a smartphone based approach

Os especialistas em diagnóstico in vitro (IVDs) têm confiado maioritariamente na inspeção visual (ótica) manual e, em segundo lugar, em sensores óticos ou câmaras embutidas ou dispositivos médicos incorporados que suportam o exame da qualidade da amostra na fase pré-analítica. Com o aumento dos volumes de amostras para serem processadas e dos respetivos dados complexos gerados por esse processamento, aquelas técnicas tornaram-se cada vez mais difíceis de utilizar, ou os respetivos resultados não ficam imediatamente disponíveis. Para superar as complexidades impostas por tais técnicas tradicionais, o aumento do uso de dispositivos móveis e algoritmos de processamento de imagem no setor de saúde abriu caminho para a constituição de novos casos de uso baseados em análises móveis de amostras, pois fornecem uma interação simples e intuitiva com objetos gráficos familiares que são mostrados no ecrã dos smartphones. As interfaces gráficas e as técnicas de interação suportadas por dispositivos móveis podem pois proporcionar ao especialista em IVD uma série de vantagens e valor agregado devido à maior familiaridade com estes dispositivos e à grande acessibilidade que evidenciam atualmente, tendo o potencial de facilitar as análises de amostras. No entanto, o uso sistemático de dispositivos móveis no setor da saúde encontra-se ainda numa fase muito incipiente, em particular na área de IVD. Nesta tese, propõe-se conceber e discutir a arquitetura, a conceção e a implementação de um protótipo de uma aplicação móvel para smartphone (designada por "HemoDetect") que implementa um conjunto sugerido de algoritmos, interfaces e técnicas de interação que foram desenvolvidos com o objetivo de contribuir para a compreensão de técnicas mais eficientes para ajudar a detetar a hemólise, um processo que designa a rotura de glóbulos vermelhos (eritrócitos) e libertação do respetivo conteúdo (citoplasma) para o fluído circundante (por exemplo, plasma sanguíneo), complementando-as com estatísticas e medições de laboratório, mostrando a utilização de um protótipo durante experiências, permitindo assim chegar-se a um conceito viável que permita apoiar eficazmente a deteção precoce de hemólise.In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) specialists have been firstly relying on manual visual (optical) inspection and, secondly, on optical sensors or cameras embedded or built-in medical devices which support the examination of sample quality in pre-analytical phase. With increasing sample processing volumes and their generated complex data, these techniques have become increasingly difficult or results are not readily available. In order to overcome the complexities posed by these traditional techniques, the increased usage of mobile devices and algorithms in the healthcare industry paves the way into shaping new use cases and discovery of mobile analysis of samples, as they provide a user-friendly and familiar interaction with objects displayed on their screens. The interfaces and interaction techniques rendered by mobile devices, bring, to the IVD specialist, a number of advantages and added value due to increased familiarity with the devices or their accessibility, which is made easier. However, they are at the beginning of their journey in the healthcare industry, in particular in the IVD and point-of-care areas. In this thesis, the proposal is to discover and discuss the architecture, design and implementation of a smartphone prototype app (called “HemoDetect”) with its algorithms, interfaces and interaction techniques which was developed to help detect hemolysis which represents the rupture of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and release of their contents (cytoplasm) into surrounding fluid (e.g. blood plasma), and complementing it with from-the-lab statistics and measurements showing its utilization during experiments, which ultimately may be a feasible concept that could support early hemolysis detection.Les spécialistes du diagnostic in vitro (DIV) se sont d'abord appuyés sur l'inspection visuelle (optique) manuelle et, ensuite, sur des capteurs optiques ou des caméras intégrées ou intégrées à des dispositifs médicaux qui facilitent l'examen de la qualité des échantillons en phase pré-analytique. Avec l'augmentation des volumes de traitement des échantillons et des données complexes générées, ces techniques sont devenues de plus en plus difficiles ou les résultats ne sont pas facilement disponibles. Afin de surmonter les complexités posées par ces techniques traditionnelles, l'utilisation croissante des appareils mobiles et des algorithmes dans le secteur de la santé ouvre la voie à la définition de nouveaux cas d'utilisation et à la découverte d'analyses d'échantillons mobiles, car ils fournissent une interaction conviviale et familière. avec des objets affichés sur leurs écrans. Les interfaces et les techniques d'interaction rendues par les appareils mobiles apportent au spécialiste des dispositifs de DIV un certain nombre d'avantages et de valeur ajoutée en raison d'une familiarisation accrue avec les appareils ou de leur accessibilité, ce qui est facilité. Cependant, ils sont au début de leur parcours dans le secteur de la santé, en particulier dans le domains des DIV et point-of-care. Dans cette thèse, la proposition est de découvrir et de discuter de l’architecture, de la conception et de la mise en oeuvre d’une application pour smartphone (appelée «HemoDetect») avec ses algorithmes, interfaces et techniques d’interaction, qui a été développée pour aider à détecter l’hémolyse qui représente une rupture des globules rouges (érythrocytes) et la libération de leur contenu (cytoplasme) dans le liquide environnant (par exemple, le plasma sanguin), en le complétant par des statistiques de laboratoire et des mesures montrant son utilisation au cours des expériences, ce qui pourrait finalement être un concept réalisable qui pourrait permettre une détection précoce de l'hémolyse

Characterisation of the probiotic potential of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum K16 and its ability to produce the postbiotic metabolite γ-aminobutyric acid

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum has been widely studied due to its beneficial effects on health such as protect against pathogens, enhance the immune system, or produce metabolites like γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The objective of this study was the evaluation of the GABA-producer L. plantarum K16 isolated from kimchi. The safety and probiotic characterisation of this strain was performed by analysing carbohydrates fermentation, enzymatic activity, antibiotics susceptibility, and haemolytic and antimicrobial activity. Likewise, GABA production was optimised following a one-factor-at-a-time procedure by changing relevant fermentation parameters like incubation temperature, yeast extract concentration and fermentation time. The results indicated that L. plantarum K16 has the potential to stimulate the digestion and absorption of several nutrients and it could have an inhibitory effect against pathogenic bacteria. The best results for GABA production by this strain was around 1000 mg/L, using 12 g/L of yeast extract, 34 °C of incubation temperature and 96 h of fermentation time.This work was supported by the Basque government (grant ELKARTEK – KK-2019/00034)

Antimicrobial Peptides Aka Host Defense Peptides – From Basic Research to Therapy

This Special Issue reprint will address the most current and innovative developments in the field of HDP research across a range of topics, such as structure and function analysis, modes of action, anti-microbial effects, cell and animal model systems, the discovery of novel host-defense peptides, and drug development

Production of Universal Red Blood Cells via Enzymatic Conversion

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion units are considered one of the most essential healthcare components in the world. In the United States alone, approximately 21 million transfusion units are required every year. Despite this high demand, RBC units are becoming increasingly scarce since only a fraction of eligible donors provide RBCs to for medical use. Additionally, RBC transfusions are limited to immune compatibility in patients, making it difficult to serve all patients with such a limited supply. This proposed design provides a method in which RBCs of any blood group can be converted into the universal blood type, O, to eliminate any concerns regarding blood type compatibility between donor and patient. This conversion process uses bacterial glycosidades to cleave the sugar groups on the surface of RBCs that defines our blood type. This process will help increase hospitals’ supply of readily usable RBCs for any situation while also providing a solution to hospitals’ struggle to use their blood bags before they expire. This proposal seeks to design a start-up scale plant that will both prepare the glysocidases needed for the treatment process and execute the conversion. This project design expects a production capacity of 200,000 tranfusion units of successfully converted RBCs per year and will be located in Medford, MA. With an initial investment of $25.6 million, the designs yields a a twelve-year net present value of$8,461,700 and has an investor’s rate of return of 21.73%. A limited twelve-year lifespan was chosen in an attempt to more accurately represent the lifespan of a start-up and to more strictly analyze its financial feasibility. The proposed project is forecasted to breakeven in early 2028, at the beginning of its eighth year of its operation, with a return on investment of 17.17%. With initial evidence of profitability, this project design is recommended. Furthermore, the financial analysis performed in this report limits the scope of this project to satisfying the blood demands of one major hospital in a metropolitan area. In reality, however, it is expected that the start-up will expand to other major hospitals or blood collecting organizations within the first several years of operation, further increasing its potential value. It should be noted, however, that investors exercise caution as the blood market has been in constant flux for the past seven years, making it difficult to predict how valuable RBC transfusion units will be compared to other blood components. The process should be executed only if an acceptable pricing can be established to sustain the large costs associated with guaranteeing endotoxin and contamination free products