A Complete Blood Typing Device for Automatic Agglutination Detection Based on Absorption Spectrophotometry

Blood type determination is an important clinical test that should be performed before any blood transfusion. However, in emergency situations, due to the patient's condition, there may not be enough time to determine the patient's blood type. In these cases, the O negative blood type is administered, because it causes less incompatibility risk to the patient. This paper presents a low-cost and portable device for ABO, Rh phenotype, reverse, and Cross-matching human blood typing, based on a spectrophotometric approach of the agglutination detection, with a fast response time (results in <;5 min). These features allow the device operation in mobile emergency units, outside conventional clinical laboratories, and close to the patient. It avoids the risk of incompatibility between the donor's and receptor's blood, improving the quality in healthcare services.