Now Reading: Smartphone platform detects Alzheimer’s biomarker cheaply
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Smartphone platform detects Alzheimer’s biomarker cheaply
Scientists at JNCASR, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed a smartphone-based platform called ADxFluor that can detect the Alzheimer's disease biomarker amyloid-β (Aβ) in blood serum.…
Scientists at JNCASR, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed a smartphone-based platform called ADxFluor that can detect the Alzheimer's disease biomarker amyloid-β (Aβ) in blood serum. The platform uses a tiny molecule called TZ-48 that changes fluorescence when it interacts with Aβ. A smartphone app captures and quantifies this change, enabling rapid and user-friendly detection.
Current diagnostic methods such as PET and MRI are expensive and require specialised infrastructure, limiting their accessibility. Blood-based tests also remain costly and complex. The new approach published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience has been tested in transgenic AD mouse brains and biofluids, accurately distinguishing diseased from healthy mice. The system is designed as a portable, low-cost point-of-care diagnostic tool.
The platform combines dual-mode brain imaging, biofluid detection and smartphone-based quantification. The scientists say this innovation can aid in screening and staging of Alzheimer's and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India has an estimated 5.3 million people living with dementia, most of it Alzheimer's, according to the Dementia India Report 2020 by the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India. Yet diagnostic facilities remain concentrated in metro cities. A smartphone-based test that works on blood serum could shift screening to primary health centres, where the majority of patients first report memory complaints. The key step will be clinical validation on human patients in Indian settings, which the JNCASR team has not yet published. The next milestone to watch is whether the platform clears human trials and receives regulatory approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research or the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
Source: greaterkashmir.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
