Development of micro Hemocytometer for human erythrocyte analysis for the early detection of cancer

The relation between erythrocyte deformability and cancer has been proved in medical fields, but it is very difficult to systemize and commercialize the traditional schemes for erythrocyte deformability assessment. In this work, a desk-top type RBC Hemocytometer system with PDMS microchip has been developed for the assessment. Macrochannels with microfiltering structure in the microchip make the erythrocyte deformed, and with an UV optical array system and C language based image processing software, filter-pass-shape and filter-pass-velocity of erythrocytes are sequentially analyzed. In the comparative studies with blood from cancerous patients and control blood, we could obtain statistically acceptable data that can distinguish cancerous from control regardless of the cancer infected regions. To enhance the performance of the system, comparative studies changing the materials of the chip (silicon-glass, PDMS and PMMA) and sectional surface characteristics control have been accomplished with notable results. This RBC Hemocytometer system can be applied as a practical diagnostic apparatus in early detection of cancer.