Fayetteville, AR – SFC Fluidics, LLC has received a new $100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Science Foundation.  The award is for the development of a laboratory-on-a-chip that will allow physicians to rapidly analyze the health status of a patient using a pinprick drop of blood.  SFC Fluidics has exclusive license to a patented and patents-pending magnetohydrodymanic (MHD) fluid pumping technology that is used to implement laboratory-on-a-chip devices.

The development of SFC’s lab-on-a-chip technologies will be of tremendous benefit to both physicians and patients.  These devices will allow for the quantitation of a variety of blood chemistry components within a single trip to the doctor’s office or hospital.  As a result, any necessary therapeutic measures could begin immediately.  Specific examples include the frequent monitoring of hormone levels for diagnosis and control of premenopausal or menopausal symptoms, the health of a pregnancy, as well as diagnosis and control of thyroid or pituitary disorders.  The information gained from a comprehensive blood chemistry assay could also be used to improve the overall health status of a patient.  A physician and patient could arrive at individualized nutritional plans and therapeutic prescription regimens based on measured vitamin deficiencies and protein expression profiles.  Current blood testing procedures often require a blood draw of several milliliters, shipping of the blood samples to centralized labs, and a wait time for results.  SFC’s labs-on-a-chip will substantially improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of medical diagnosis and intervention strategies.

Dr. Christine E. Evans, Chief Scientist at SFC Fluidics explains, “This Phase I grant will allow us to prove feasibility for development of the blood chemistry analysis lab-on-a-chip.  This is an exciting opportunity to move key blood chemistry measurements directly into the doctor’s office, effectively eliminating the time and expense of central laboratory analyses.” 

Throughout the project, business development support will be supplied by Virtual Incubation Company, LLC.  Dr. Calvin Goforth, President of Virtual Incubation says, “SFC’s technology is particularly intriguing from a commercial viewpoint.  One can envision multiple lab-on-a-chip devices for use within a single readout instrument that together provide affordable, simple point-of-care diagnostic capability for a broad range of infectious and non-infectious disease and injuries.  The market for microfluidic devices is rapidly emerging and this flexible platform will be particularly appealing to the medical community.”


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