From sci-fi to reality – portable analysis

Over the years, many and varied predictions have been made regarding technological advances, with countless seemingly ‘crazy’ ideas originating in works of science fiction. Here, Stephen Tomisich discusses the inexorable rise of portable analysers and outlines some of the technological challenges and advances that are driving this key trend.

What are now everyday technologies – such as automatic sliding doors, communication satellites, internet search engines and tablet computers – were first introduced in sci-fi long before they became reality. It makes one wonder about cause and effect.

Analytical science and medical developments have featured heavily in these predictions; genetic engineering, the development of point-of-care diagnostic testing and portable, in-field analysers, for example, all first came to light in works of fiction. Now, high profile awards from organisations such as the X-prize Foundation are driving technology and innovation to be applied in increasingly novel ways to solve global problems.

As technology becomes ever more powerful and increasingly portable, the transformation of science fiction into science fact shows no sign of abating. Today, the vast majority of analytical testing is conducted by professionals in scientific laboratories who are trained to use highly sophisticated instruments and equipment. However, there is growing momentum for more samples to be analysed at the point of origin. As a result there is increasing demand for multifunctional, portable analytical instruments, reminiscent of the ‘Tricorder’ scanner we first witnessed in Star Trek. Such a device needs to be capable of: processing the raw sample, making the analysis, interpreting and recording the resulting data, and connecting this data to relevant users.

The computational power now available to individuals through smart devices, combined with the desire for all of us to know more about our wellbeing and the environment in which we live, will most likely lead to such portable analytical instruments being used for science in the home and personal measurement. There is already a shift to this mind-set amongst medical professionals with, for example, 62% of doctors in the US using computer tablets for professional practises.¹ Tablets allow quick access to medical records and enhance communication with patients as doctors take advantage of multimedia to explain illnesses, procedures and treatments. However, perhaps the most noticeable development is the use of tablets as diagnostic tools with apps now available for reviewing ECG history and fluid management.

One might presume that this trend will cause a reduction in laboratory-based measurements, but in fact it is likely to have the opposite effect. The demand for sophisticated, laboratory-based measurement may actually find a new driver originating from the increase in dispersed, localised data generation. Portable measurement doesn’t replace the lab; it ends up becoming an input to it.

In addition to in-home use of portable analytical instruments by medical professionals there is great potential for personalised measurement, giving individuals the power of knowledge. By self-monitoring of health and wellbeing indicators and ‘direct sampling’ by the individual, they will increasingly become a primary source of analytical information.

Portable, smart glucose, heart rate and blood pressure monitors linked to smart phones are already becoming an integrated part of modern life, allowing individuals to actively monitor their own conditions. Point of care testing has proven successful for diabetes patients, reducing the number of clinic appointments and instances of associated diseases. As a testament to this success, home monitoring for diabetic cats and dogs is also rapidly increasing. The ability to monitor and diagnose other conditions with portable devices would allow more people to be able to effectively manage their own health and treatments, reducing the strain on healthcare services. Ultimately the devices could link wirelessly to patients’ medical records to help clinicians find more effective ways of preventing, treating and managing illnesses.

Of course, the potential of Tricorder-type instruments is not limited solely to healthcare. A mobile device capable of performing several analytical tests could be hugely beneficial in other industries, such as environmental and food safety monitoring. In critical environmental incidences, being able to rapidly determine a contaminant and identify the area of contamination is essential. However samples often have to be transported to laboratories for processing, increasing the response time. Point of sample analysis would deliver faster results, enabling project managers to more efficiently manage the site, thereby allowing more effective remedies to be deployed faster.¹ An environmental ‘Tricorder’ could also have a significant impact in improving cost efficiencies. In the UK alone it is estimated that £210 million per year is spent unnecessarily on environmental remediation due to poor site investigations.² There are thought to be several contributing factors to this, including the quantity of samples taken and speed at which results are generated. The primary advantage of on site analysis is that investigators would be able to analyse more samples and react to data in real-time.

As the numbers of imports from emerging economies increases, the issue of food safety is becoming ever more important. Across the EU and the US there are numerous regulations in place for the monitoring and screening of chemical residues or contaminants in imported food. The traditional approach to monitoring imported foods is for samples to be taken and transported to an external laboratory for assessment. Analysis reports then typically take between 5-28 days to be delivered.³

This has several disadvantages including the limited number of tests on imported food that can be conducted due to cost and resourcing issues. Also if results are not returned rapidly and a non-compliant result is obtained, it is highly likely the food may have already been transported to retail outlets or even consumed. Portable instruments would allow for rapid testing onsite, meaning that all non-compliant consignments could be rejected at the port, lessening the need for expensive product recalls.

In order for these visions to become a reality, the three key areas of the analytical process remain the same – sampling and preparation, separation, and detection. Achieving those process steps with ‘raw’ samples in a non-laboratory environment is a significant challenge. Excitingly, in many areas including chemistry and micro-fabrication, we can already see the components developing for our future ‘Tricorders’, with emerging robust and portable hardware designs. One such emerging technology is micro-SPE (solid phase extraction) in a variety of formats. These novel embodiments offer sample preparation technique for liquid and gas chromatography, which requires only a few microliters of sample and reagent instead of millilitres. Typically, micro-SPE uses 100 times less sample and solvent than a comparable solid phase extraction method. Much smaller volumes of solvent, sample and dead volumes in the analytical system provide significant advantages in terms of speed and the simplicity of the sample extraction process.

In the laboratory, micro-SPE has already proved valuable, delivering robustness even when processing difficult samples and improving cost-efficiency due to the smaller volumes of reagent required. In one study, the technique was used to extract hydrolysed animal urines for the analysis of opiate metabolites and equalled the performance of conventional SPE, with the added advantage of using only one hundredth of the sample.

Another great advantage of micro-SPE is that it can be used on-line by integrating the sample preparation and chromatography stages. This was demonstrated when analysing volatile phenols in waste water at 250 parts per trillion. The micro-SPE method was used both on and off-line with GC-MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry), and in both instances signal-to-noise ratio was high and recovery was excellent. The technique uses the same volumes as GC and LC inlets, overcoming the last barrier to automation of many analyses when using SPE.

A further example of the evolution of smaller instruments can be seen in recent developments in chromatography. Today’s chromatographers are looking away from tubing-based flow systems to consider planar microchannel systems. Innovations in design and fabrication of such microchannel devices (MCDs) have resulted in highly efficient and reliable micro fluidic platforms that improve connectivity and enable maximum chromatography performance. Crucially for the drive towards portable instruments, the creation of MCDs has pushed the development of smaller tubing technology, a key factor in the reduction of instrument size.

The ‘born in sci-fi’ vision to move to portable sample analysis is real. As more powerful, portable and affordable technology is developed many more measurements will be able to be made at the origin of the sample – be it on board a food transport vehicle, beside a stream or river, or in a patient’s home. We are already well on the road towards a time where measurements in situ will serve people and society by delivering greater information on the environment in which we live and informing decisions and choices for our health and wellbeing.

References: 

1. http://www.securedgenetworks.com/strategy-blog/Hospital-Wifi-and-the-Growth-of-iPads-Why-Doctors-Love-Them-So-Much 2. http://www.qros.co.uk/benefits_of_onsite_analysis.html 3. Donarski et al. 2012. Potential for rapid onsite testing at border inspection posts. The Food and Environment Research Agency.

The author:

Stephen Tomisich is Director and CEO of Trajan Scientific and Medical.