HemaDrop - an accurate technology to analyze blood composition from a drop

01/14/2022

As COVID-19 cases rise, please help keep ERs open for emergencies

ERs are for emergenciesWith the Omicron variant spreading rapidly, Arizona has seen more COVID-19 cases in the past week than any other week of the pandemic. Alongside this increase, we’ve seen more people seeking care in hospital emergency rooms and more people seeking COVID-19 testing.

Both of these are challenging in their own right. But one avoidable problem is occurring: Hospitals report that people with no symptoms or mild symptoms are seeking COVID-19 tests at emergency rooms instead of designated testing sites. This is making it more difficult to care for people facing medical emergencies.

Arizona’s hospitals are already strained caring for both COVID-19 patients, the vast majority of whom aren’t vaccinated, and others who need medical attention. With emergency rooms on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, we need everyone to help make sure ERs are reserved for immediate medical needs.

Alternatives to the ER for those not experiencing a medical emergency include your primary care physician, a local community health clinic, urgent care centers, or telehealth services available through many insurance companies.

Of course, if you have a medical emergency, or are experiencing symptoms like trouble breathing, uncontrolled bleeding, altered mental state, or signs of a stroke or heart attack, don’t hesitate to go to an emergency room to get the attention you need.

Here are some testing options, most of them free:

Our website has a map showing hundreds of testing locations across the state.
In the Phoenix area, ASU, the city of Phoenix, and Maricopa County have testing locations.
Pharmacies including CVS and Walgreens offer testing.
Home tests can be purchased in stores and online.
If your health concern is less urgent or involves COVID-19 testing, please take advantage of these alternatives to ensure doctors and nurses in hospital emergency rooms are ready to provide care for those in urgent need of it.

With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly, Arizona has seen more COVID-19 cases in the past week than any other week of the pandemic. Alongside this increase, we’ve seen more people seeking care in hospital emergency rooms and more people seeking COVID-19 testing.

06/04/2020

We just submitted two abstracts to the 2020 Annual Symposium of the American Vacuum Society with our latests results ... Stay tuned! www.avs.org

04/21/2020

The ASU SiO2 CIMD research group in collaboration with the SiO2 Innovates LLC R&D team, Dr. Eric J. Culbertson, MD, and Prof. Karen L. Kavanagh from Simon Fraser University has just published in MRS Advances a comprehensive study of accuracy, and reproducibility of whole blood analysis using a few µL of blood and our HemaDrop™ technology to solidify blood drops and use solid state analysis techniques like Ion Beam Analysis, X-ray PhotoElectron Spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence.

Accuracy and reproducibility of whole blood composition for electrolytes Na, Cl, Mg, K, Ca, and for Fe is shown to be within the medical benchmark required are found to be better 10%, and as good 2-3% for Fe and several electrolytes.

The title of our paper is

Optimizing Homogeneous Thin Solid Films (HTSFs) from μL- Blood Droplets via Hyper-Hydrophilic Coatings (HemaDropTM) for Accurate Compositional Analysis via IBA, XRF, and XPS

The Authors are:
Nicole Herbots (1,2,4,5)
Nikhil C. Suresh (1,4,5)
Shaurya Khanna (1)
Saaketh R. Narayan (1,4,5)
Amber A. Chow (1)
Mohammed Sahal (1),
Sukesh Ram (1,4,5)
Jack M. Day (1,4,5)
Yash W. Pershad (4,6)
Harshini L. Thinakaran (4)
Robert J. Culbertson (1,2)
Eric J. Culbertson (2,4)
Karen L. Kavanagh (3)

1 Arizona State University, Department of Physics, Tempe, AZ

2 SiO2 Innovates, LLC, Tempe, AZ
3 Simon Fraser University
4 MicroDrop Diagnostics LLC, Tempe, AZ
5 AccuAngle Analytics LLC, Tempe, AZ
6 Stanford University, Department of Biology