Advancing Sickle Cell Disease Management: Introducing a High-Throughput Test for Irreversibly Sickled Cells

Advancing Sickle Cell Disease Management: Introducing a High-Throughput Test for Irreversibly Sickled Cells

Presenter(s)

John-Paul Stefano Bugada

Comments

Presentation: 11:00-11:15, Kennedy Union Boll Theatre

Description

Sickle cell disease is an inherited red blood cell disorder caused by abnormal hemoglobin in the cells. This hemoglobin causes the cells to temporarily become rigid and shaped like a “C” or sickle. Sickle cells can get stuck and block blood flow leading to pain, infections, and other serious complications. The percentage of irreversibly sickled cells (ISCs) is an indication of how patients are managing their sickle cell disease. Currently, the best way to quantify ISCs is to use a microscope to count the normal red blood cells and ISCs and then manually calculate a percentage. This method is both time-consuming and subjective, and as a result, it is not being used even though it can help doctors better understand how patients are managing their disease. Through my research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, we developed a high-throughput ISC test that is faster, more efficient, and more consistent than the current method. This new method uses machine learning analysis software to sort through tens of thousands of pictures of cells from a patient and determine the percentage of ISCs. The new test correlates with the current method without having to train people to recognize sickle cells or manually count them. We believe that this test will provide more accessible, accurate, and consistent monitoring of sickle cell disease while reducing subjectivity, costs, and time.

Publication Date

4-17-2024

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Don A. Comfort

Primary Advisor's Department

Chemical and Materials Engineering

Keywords

Stander Symposium, School of Engineering

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship; Practical Wisdom; Vocation

Advancing Sickle Cell Disease Management: Introducing a High-Throughput Test for Irreversibly Sickled Cells

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