by Heart attacks are medical emergencies that demand prompt intervention to enhance patient outcomes. However, early diagnosis, which is crucial, can be elusive, especially outside of clinical settings. A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University has developed a groundbreaking diagnostic tool that can swiftly and accurately detect heart attacks within minutes. Their findings were published in Advanced Science.
Assistant Research Scientist Peng Zheng, the study’s lead author, explained, “Heart attacks are notoriously difficult to diagnose due to their variable symptoms and subtle biological markers, which can be missed in the early stages when treatment is most effective.” The researchers aimed to create a technology capable of identifying heart attacks quickly.
The team, led by senior author Ishan Barman, specializes in diagnostic tools through biophotonics, employing laser light to detect biomarkers. For this study, they utilized their technology to identify the earliest signs of a heart attack in a patient’s blood.
Approximately 800,000 individuals in the United States experience heart attacks each year. Despite their prevalence, heart attacks remain one of the most challenging conditions to diagnose due to their inconsistent symptoms and subtle biological indicators. Suspected heart attack patients usually undergo a battery of tests, including electrocardiograms and blood tests, which can take hours to complete.
The researchers’ stand-alone blood test delivers results in just five to seven minutes. It is also more precise and cost-effective than current methods, according to the researchers. Although designed for clinical use, the test could potentially be adapted as a portable device for first responders or even for home use.
Barman, a bioengineer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, stated, “We’re focusing on speed, accuracy, and the ability to perform measurements outside of a hospital. In the future, we envision this could be transformed into a handheld instrument, like a Star Trek tricorder, where a few drops of blood yield results in a matter of seconds.”
The core of the invention is a microchip featuring a unique nanostructured surface for blood analysis. The chip’s metasurface amplifies electric and magnetic signals during Raman spectroscopy analysis, making heart attack biomarkers discernible in seconds, even at extremely low concentrations. The tool is sensitive enough to identify heart attack biomarkers that might not be detected at all with current tests or not until much later in an attack.
Although designed to diagnose heart attacks, the tool could potentially be adapted to detect cancer and infectious diseases, the researchers noted.
Barman added, “The commercial potential is immense. There’s no limitation to this platform technology.” The team plans to further refine the blood test and conduct larger clinical trials in the future.
Co-authors of the study include Lintong Wu, Piyush Raj, Jeong Hee Kim, Santosh Paidi, all from Johns Hopkins, and Steve Semancik from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
