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Art of STEM 2016
Show moreAbout 3 million people worldwide suffer from sickle cell disease (SCD), mostly in Africa, India and the Middle East, with an estimated 100,000 affected in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SCD affects 1 in 375 newborns in the US. More than 800 children are born with SCD every day in Africa, and more than half of them die in childhood due to lack of diagnosis and early treatment. In the US, hemoglobin screening of newborns is mandated for early diagnosis, so that, monitoring and treatment can be started immediately, which has dramatically reduced SCD related mortality. However, this strategy has not been widely available in Africa and other third-world countries, due to limited resources. Therefore, there is a need for simple, rapid, and mobile analyses of hemoglobin types in newborn blood with which to diagnose hemoglobinopathies while the baby is still on-site. Early diagnosis through new born screening in resource-poor settings can be achieved with a point-of-care screening method, such as with the HemeChip, a device developed in the CASE Biomanufacturing and Microfabrication Lab. A HemeChip that can accurately identify hemoglobin type in a drop of blood will improve the way we screen, diagnose and initiate management of hemoglobinopathies in newborns. This illustration depicts the usage of the HemeChip and the process of diagnosing SCD. Collaboration with Umut Gurkan, Yunus Alapan, and James Kim.
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