SLIPS-LAB for urinary stone diagnostics
Open Access
- Author:
- Li, Hui
- Graduate Program:
- Bioengineering
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 10, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Pak Kin Wong, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Pak Kin Wong, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Tak Sing Wong, Committee Member
Siyang Zheng, Committee Member
Lauren Dell Zarzar, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Urinary stone; Urinalysis; SLIPS; Point of care; Biomimicry
Microfluidics
Urinary stone
Urinalysis
SLIPS
Point of care
Biomimicry - Abstract:
- Urinary stone disease, or kidney stones, affects ~19% of men and 9% of women during their lifetime and carries a $5 billion annual healthcare expenditure. Current guidelines recommend metabolic workup based on 24-hour urine collection for high risk stone formers to identify potential underlying etiologies, initiate dietary and pharmacologic interventions, and their therapeutic monitoring. The slow, expensive, and inconvenient steps hinder routine monitoring and delivery of optimal care. In this study, we develop the SLIPS-LAB, a cellphone-sized POC medical system, for rapid measurement of urinary stone analytes to facilitate management of high-risk urinary stone patients. The SLIPS-LAB is designed using a biologically inspired liquid-repellent surfaces, Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surface (SLIPS). The ultrarepellent surface allows autonomous droplet manipulation with zero-power requirement. The non-fouling property of SLIPS enables manipulation of analytical fluids (e.g., water, milk, and honey) and physiological fluids (e.g., urine, blood, saliva, and plasma) and prevents loss of target analytes. Sample preparation procedures including volume metering, reagent mixing, and reaction time control can be automated by properly designing the system. Similar to blood glucose monitoring, the simplicity and speed of SLIPS-LAB hold the potential to provide actionable diagnostic information for patients with urinary stone disease and improve their adherence to dietary and pharmacologic treatments. To validate the clinical feasibility of the prototype SLIPS-LAB, we pilot a study of examining the urinary stone related metabolic workups for 15 urine samples from patients. The results suggest high coordination with clinical reports.