ON-ORBIT IMMUNO-BASED LABEL-FREE WHITE BLOOD COUNTING SYSTEM WITH MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SENSOR (MEMS) TECHNOLOGY (OILWBCS-MEMS)

摘要

PROBLEM STATEMENT A whole blood cell counting instrument supporting medical testing of crew members as well as supporting various research activities on orbit is important to NASA. Tests from early missions showed that astronauts lost up to 15% of their red blood cell mass in just a few days in the weightless environment of space.t The enumeration of various populations of white blood cells in the peripheral blood has direct clinical relevance, as peripheral cell populations may expand (proliferation in response to pathogen, hematological malignancy), or contract (sequestered at localized site of inflammation) related to specific disease states.