DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a field of fluorescence spectroscopy and more particularly relates to detection for immunofluorescence from a biomarker in medical applications.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0003] Florescence spectroscopy has been widely used in the field of medical sciences for various applications such as sepsis detection, oncology, bacterial taxonomy, detection of pre- malignant and malignant lesions etc. When used in the field of medical sciences, fluorescence spectroscopy is commonly worded as Immunofluorescence spectroscopy (or microscopy) and is used to detect immunofluorescence from various biomarkers. The most common application of immunofluorescence detection is found in sepsis detection in surgical patients since the mortality rate due to sepsis is very high and it becomes imperative to detect sepsis conditions in surgical patients.

[0004] The very commonly and extensively used setup to detect immunofluorescence for sepsis detection, among other applications, uses laser as a light emitter and a photon counter as a light collector. While the use of laser as a light emitter offers various advantages such as a highly focussed and monochromatic light beam that can easily be used to excite a sample, it also suffers from various disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages include short lifespan of around three years and high cost. In addition, the combination of the laser and photon counter also adds up to the cost of the spectroscopic equipment which ranges between 10000- 12000USD. Further, the size of the equipment is quite large and imposes portability issues. To sum up, the spectroscopic equipments currently used require the laser source to be replaced almost every three years, are costly and also cannot reach to the masses due to portability issues. [0005] Now, in developed economies, the cost or the size might not be that big a concern as the medical facilities such as hospitals and clinics etc are widespread and the masses have easy access to these facilities. Further, the developed economies make it a point that their citizens have proper heath insurances and therefore, the high cost of equipments which indirectly affects the cost of services does not affect the masses in general.

[0006] However, this is not the case with developing economies. Cost-effectiveness and portability of equipments are two major factors that need to be addressed since vast population resides in areas where medical facilities are not highly developed, and majority of population has to pay for treatments out of their pockets. Thus, the existing solutions are not only costly but also technically complex in terms of size, flexibility and portability.

[0007] Therefore, in view of above, it becomes imperative to look for solutions that can provide a reliable, yet cost-effective detection of immunofluorescence from biomarkers for use in various fields of medical sciences.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0008] The present disclosure overcomes one or more shortcomings of the prior art and provides additional advantages discussed throughout the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

[0009] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, an immunofluorescence detecting equipment is disclosed. The equipment comprises a light emitting source for emitting light in an Ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range. The equipment further comprises a lens tube, having a first circular face and a second circular face, arranged in such a manner that the light emitting source is placed at the first circular face and a microfluidic chip comprising at least one microfluidic channel containing a biological sample with a biomarker is placed at the second circular face. The lens tube comprises at least one biconvex lens configured to converge the light emitted by the light emitting source onto the at least one microfluidic channel in order to trigger the biomarker to emit immunofluorescent emissions at one or more wavelengths. The equipment further comprises an avalanche photodiode (APD) based detector configured to detect a required immunofluorescent emission.

[0010] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of detecting immunofluorescence is disclosed. The method comprises providing a light emitting source for emitting light in an Ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range. The method further comprises providing a lens tube, having a first circular face and a second circular face arranged in such a manner that the light emitting source is placed at the first circular face and a microfluidic chip comprising at least one microfluidic channel containing a biological sample with a biomarker is placed at the second circular face. In one embodiment, providing the lens tube comprises providing at least one biconvex lens configured to converge the light emitted by the light emitting source onto the at least one microfluidic channel in order to trigger the biomarker to emit immunofluorescent emissions at one or more wavelengths. The method further comprises providing an avalanche photodiode (APD) based detector configured to detect a required immunofluorescent emission.

[0011] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] The embodiments of the disclosure itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0013] Figure 1 depicts a block diagram 100 of an immunofluorescence detecting equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2 depicts a real-time illustration 200 of the immunofluorescence detecting equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; [0015] Figure 3 depicts a circuit diagram 300 of an avalanche photodiode (APD) based detector in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0016] Figure 4 depicts a method 400, by way of a flow diagram, to detect immunofluorescence emission in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure.

[0019] The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying Figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the Figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

[0020] Disclosed herein is an immunofluorescence detecting equipment and a method thereof. Immunofluorescence detection from biomarkers finds applications in various spheres in the domain of medical sciences including but not limited to sepsis detection, oncology, bacterial taxonomy, detection of pre-malignant and malignant lesions etc. The conventional immunofluorescence detecting equipment uses laser as a light emitter and a photon counter as a light collector. While the use of laser as a light emitter offers various advantages such as a highly focussed and monochromatic light beam that can easily be used to excite a sample of relatively smaller sizes, it also suffers from various disadvantages such as short lifespan, high cost and portability issues. [0021] The immunofluorescence detecting equipment disclosed herein overcomes the above- mentioned disadvantages by replacing the laser with a suitable light emitting source capable of emitting light in UV wavelength range and by replacing the photon counter with a single avalanche photo diode (APD) based detector. In addition, the disclosed immunofluorescence detecting equipment does not require any complex circuitry or extensive elements for immunofluorescence detection. The detailed description of said immunofluorescence detecting equipment is described in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0022] Figure 1 depicts a block diagram 100 of the immunofluorescence detecting equipment (hereafter referred to as “Equipment”) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The block diagram 100 of Figure 1 and the working of various components of the equipment is explained in conjunction with Figure 2 which depicts a real-time illustration 200 of the equipment.

[0023] The equipment as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a light emitting source 102, a lens tube 104, a microfluidic chip 202, a filter lens 108 and an avalanche photo diode (APD) based detector 106. In one embodiment, the light emitting source 102 comprises at least an ultraviolet- light emitting diode (UV-LED) capable of emitting light in an ultraviolet wavelength range. The lens tube 104 is a cylindrical tube configured to confine the light emitted by the UV-LED 102 within and prevent interference from ambient light. Further, the lens tube 104 comprises a first circular face and a second circular face as is known for any cylindrical structure. In one embodiment, the UV-LED 102 is placed at the first circular face of the lens tube 104 and the microfluidic chip 202 is placed at the second circular face of the lens tube 104. The microfluidic chip 202 comprises at least one microfluidic channel 114 of a predefined dimension containing a biological sample with a biomarker. In one embodiment, the at least one microfluidic channel 114 has a dimension of around 200 microns. However, it may be known to a skilled person that microfluidic channels of various different dimensions may be fabricated on the microfluidic chip 202. Further, in accordance with the embodiment, the biological sample comprises of plasma extracted from the blood of a living being.

[0024] In one embodiment, the lens tube 104 further comprises at least one biconvex lens 110 and a focal length adjusting unit 112. Light emitted from the UV-LED 102 is converged onto the at least one microfluidic channel 114 by the at least one biconvex lens 110 whose focal length may be adjusted by means of the focal length adjusting unit 112 to obtain a focused beam of light as depicted in the inset of Figure 1.

[0025] The light converging onto the at least one microfluidic channel 114 excites the molecules of the biomarker to emit immunofluorescent emissions at one or more wavelengths. Since, the light obtained from the UV-LED 102 is not monochromatic and not as focussed in comparison to that obtained from a laser (used in conventional technique), the immunofluorescent emissions emitted from the biomarker are at different wavelengths. To filter out unwanted immunofluorescent emissions and allow only the required immunofluorescent emission at particular wavelength to pass through the APD based detector 106, the filter lens 108 is placed between the microfluidic chip 202 and the APD based detector 106.

[0026] The detection of required immunofluorescence is achieved by the APD based detector 106. The circuit diagram of the APD based detector 106 is illustrated in Figure 3. The APD based detector essentially comprises of three components viz., the APD 302, a trans-impedance amplifier 304 and a non-inverting amplifier 306. In accordance with the embodiment, the APD 302 generates a current based on the required immunofluorescent emission detected. The APD 302 operates in a reverse biased region in order to generate current of a reasonable value of the order of a few micron. The current generated by the APD 302 is converted into voltage by a trans-impedance amplifier 304 connected to the APD 302 as shown in Figure 3. However, for ease of analysis, the magnitude of the converted voltage is amplified by a non-inverting amplifier 306 connected to the trans-impedance amplifier 304 as shown in Figure 3.

[0027] The amplified voltage is in analog form and in one embodiment, is converted into a digital form in order to obtain a voltage reading by means of one or more analog to digital converter (ADC) channels connected to the APD based detector 106. The resultant voltage reading may be used by a medical professional for detection of either sepsis or lesions or cancerous cells etc depending on the type of application the equipment is used for.

[0028] Figure 4 depicts a method 400, by way of a flow diagram, to detect immunofluorescence in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks may be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described.

[0030] At block 402, the method 400 may include providing 402 a light emitting source 102 for emitting light in an Ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range.

[0031] At block 404, the method 400 may include providing 404 a lens tube 104, having a first circular face and a second circular face arranged in such a manner that the light emitting source is placed at the first circular face and a microfluidic chip 202 comprising at least one microfluidic channel 114 containing a biological sample with a biomarker is placed at the second circular face. In one embodiment, for providing the lens tube 104, the method 400 proceeds to blocks 404A and 404B.

[0032] At block 404A, the method 400 may include providing 404A at least one biconvex lens 110 configured to converge the light emitted by the light emitting source 102 onto the at least one microfluidic channel 114 in order to trigger the biomarker to emit immunofluorescent emissions at one or more wavelengths.

[0033] At block 404B, the method 400 may include providing 404B a focal length adjusting unit 112 to facilitate adjustment of a focal length of the at least one biconvex lens 110 in order to obtain a focused beam of light from the light emitting source 102.

[0034] At block 406, the method 400 may include providing at least one filter lens 108 between the microfluidic chip 202 and the APD based detector 106.

[0035] At block 408, the method 400 may include providing an avalanche photodiode (APD) based detector 106 configured to detect a required immunofluorescent emission.

[0036] A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the disclosure.

[0037] When a single device or article is described herein, it will be clear that more than one device/article (whether they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether they cooperate), it will be clear that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality /features. Thus, other embodiments of the disclosure need not include the device itself.

[0038] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the disclosure be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the disclosure, which is set forth in the following claims.

[0039] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.