Hemoglobin Assay Performed with Photothermal Optical Sensor

An optical sensor, termed a photothermal spectral-domain optical coherence reflectometer (PT SD-OCR) is capable of direct measurement of hemoglobin concentration (Hb) without chemicals and preprocessing of blood.

The PT SD-OCR OCR measures Hb by quantifying refractive index changes of blood samples due to photothermal effect under the irradiation of 532-nm light and its diagnostic accuracy and precision has been evaluated in anemic patients.

Scientists at the Yonsei University (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and their colleagues used PT SD-OCR to measure Hb in 50 anemic patients, and examined its accuracy against a hematology analyzer. Its precision was assessed by examining the standard deviation (SD) and coefficients of variation (CV) based on 20 repeated measurements on three blood sample and its performance was also compared with a hemoglobinometer.

The relative accuracy of the PT SD-OCR sensor was examined and the comparisons of the PT SD-OCR and HemoCue 201+ System (Angelholm, Sweden) against the results from the ADVIA 2120i hematology analyze (Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany). An excellent correlation was observed between the results from the hematology analyzer and those of the PT SD-OCR sensor. The precision of the PT SD-OCR sensor was also comparable with the ADVIA 2120i analyzer and the HemoCue 201+ detector.

The authors concluded that simple and chemical-free operation of PT SD-OCR enabled rapid and accurate measurement of Hb in anemic patients. The sensor is expected to facilitate clinical procedures related to blood-related disorders in patient care. The PT SD-OCR sensor may therefore be readily utilized in clinical settings for hemoglobin detection and determination of proper treatment strategies for anemic patients. The study was published in the January 2015 issue of the journal Clinica Chimica Acta.

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Yonsei University
HemoCue
Siemens AG