Portable Iron Screening System for Point-of-Care Iron Status Determination

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the United States. Left untreated, iron stores continue to deplete, resulting in iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Women undergoing basic military training are particularly susceptible to reduced and depleted iron stores. To-date, there are no point-of-care (POC) instruments for comprehensive, accurate determination of iron status. We propose to develop a novel POC iron screening system, which utilizes affinity-based sensors to rapidly and selectively measure serum markers and perform blood analysis on an integrated cartridge. The cartridge will be integrated into a complete system with user-friendly software, and capabilities of accessing Electronic Health Records (HER). In Phase I, we successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept of key technology elements including plasma separation and ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) detection at physiological levels. In Phase II, the sensor platform will be extended to include a comprehensive set of biomarkers for iron deficiency. The sensor elements will be optimized and integrated into a single cartridge for multiplex detection. At the conclusion of Phase II, a complete, validated, portable iron screening system will be ready for commercialization and transition, which will be actively pursued beyond Phase II.