A research team led by Professor Chien‑Fu Chen at National Taiwan University created the hand‑cranked microfluidic chip. Turning a hand‑crank attached to the chip moves blood through serpentine channels pre‑loaded with A, B and Rh reagents. Matching blood with a reagent causes red cells to clump and form a visible red band indicating the blood type.
The length of the red band, read against scale marks on the chip, correlates with hematocrit level. In validation using 21 hospital patient samples, the device’s readings closely agreed with standard laboratory analyzers. Test results remained consistent regardless of crank speed.
Our goal is to bring two essential blood tests out of the laboratory and into the hands of first responders
Chien‑Fu Chen, Phys.org
Professor Chien‑Fu Chen stated that the goal is to bring essential blood tests to first responders without electricity or specialized training. The study describing the hand‑powered micro‑slit–gated microfluidic method was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics with a 2027 publication date and DOI 10.1016/j.bios.2026.119215.
Join the discussion