Cerebrospinal fluid leaks can be detected by single-use sensor strips

Researchers from the University of Florida and Yang Ming-Chiao Tung University published in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B by AIP Publishing, a single-use sensor strip

FREMONT, CA: Using primary conventional methods such as immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) leaks can be detected, which take hours or days to produce results. Secondary procedures, such as optical techniques based on MRI, frequently fail to pinpoint the exact location of the leak. Researchers from the University of Florida and Yang Ming-Chiao Tung University published in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B by AIP Publishing, a single-use sensor strip that may be used with a circuit board, which is similar to a hand-held glucometer, and helps to detect cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid leakage.

The brain and spinal cord contain cerebrospinal fluid, which performs essential physiological activities such as shock absorption and waste elimination. CSF connects extracranial space to the subarachnoid space, which contains the primary cerebral blood arteries. Obesity, excessive intracranial pressure, and obstructive sleep apnea are all risk factors for CSF leaks, in addition to trauma, surgery, and congenital abnormalities. Cerebrospinal fluid leaks can occur through the nose or ears.

Co-author Minghan Xian expressed how they were shocked to see that their detection approach was not only able to produce a result in one second, but that the detection limit was also far more sensitive at a highly diluted concentration than existing detection methods. The researchers took nine human clinical samples from a Florida hospital and injected them into a small liquid channel on the sensor strips' tip. The electrodes in the liquid channel had antibodies on their surfaces that were specific to proteins present only in human cerebrospinal fluid. A few short electrical pulses were given through the electrodes after the test fluid was put into the liquid channel. After that, the circuit board evaluates the signal and generates a four-digit number that corresponds to the concentration of beta-2-transferrin, a protein found in CSF.