Microfluidic device developed recently could accurately predict onset of life threatening sepsis in very ill hospitalized patients by measuring neutrophil motility patterns using just a single drop of blood
- New microfluidic device that measures neutrophil migration patterns in sick patients found to accurately predict onset of sepsis with 95 percent accuracy
- Current methods of diagnosis of sepsis remain imprecise resulting in missed or delayed diagnosis
- Sepsis is diagnosed in over a million patients in the US each year and is associated with high death rates





"During sepsis, factors present in the plasma of these patients induce neutrophils to migrate spontaneously when placed into the mazes of our microfluidic device, and we were able to identify migration patterns specific to sepsis."
Reason for Study
Impaired neutrophil function has long been known to be an important reason for occurrence of sepsis. However, there are currently no methods to accurately measure neutrophil function to predict or diagnose sepsis accurately.The newly designed microfluidic device hopes to overcome this critical gap and enable precise and early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis which would vastly improve patient prognosis and outcome.
- Daniel Irimia, MD, PhD, associate director of the BioMEMS Resource Center and senior author of the current study had earlier led a study in 2014 which found that measuring movement patterns of isolated neutrophils, (including rapid, spontaneous motion not stimulated by a chemical attractant), could accurately predict those patients who were likely to develop sepsis.
- The authors of the current study believed that the results of earlier study (2014) on isolated neutrophils could be further validated in blood samples obtained from seriously ill patients.
- Blood samples obtained from 23 patients under intensive care at various periods of hospitalization were assessed for neutrophil motility patterns using the special micro fluid device
- The newly developed microfluidic device - around 5 millimeters in diameter, is made up of a central chamber surrounded by filters that prevent red blood cells and other blood components from passing through
- Only neutrophils can pass through the filters and reach a maze of channels within which their motility patterns can be studied
- The research team identified and measured five neutrophil parameters, namely, the number of neutrophils, their movements within the channels, the time spent remaining immobile, reverse movement back into the central chamber, and the average distance migrated.
- The initial observations were reconfirmed by testing samples from a separate group of 19 patients from another ICU; results showed more than 95 percent accuracy in identifying patients at risk of or having sepsis
"Using blood samples taken from patients on the first day of hospitalization, the assay identified sepsis patients with very high accuracy" says Jarone Lee, MD, medical director of the Blake 12 Intensive Care Unit at MGH and a co-author of the report. "We believe that this approach may allow us to identify patients at risk of developing sepsis earlier than any current method."
- Additional studies using the microfluidic device in a larger group and including a more diverse group of patients are now ongoing at the MGH
About Sepsis In Brief
Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction due to an impaired host response to infection, and is still a leading cause of death in acutely ill patients. It is currently diagnosed based on clinical parameters (which may be subjective), rather than biologic and/or molecular criteria.Neutrophils have long been known to play a major role in sepsis and studies such as these that enable precise measurement of neutrophil function can greatly improve the diagnostic accuracy of as well as treatment (and prevention) of sepsis.
- Ellett F, Jorgensen J, Marand A L, Liu Y M, Martinez M M, Sein V, Butler K L, Lee J & Irimia D. Diagnosis of sepsis from a drop of blood by measurement of spontaneous neutrophil motility in a microfluidic assay. Nature Biomedical Engineering (2018) doi:10.1038/s41551-018-0208-z