Patient-centric devices for sample preparation and analysis using capillary microfluidics

The thesis concerns blood sampling, which usually requires hospital or laboratory visits because processing and analysis are centralised. Home sampling and point-of-care testing aim to simplify this and may improve access and reduce workload. Blood is complex and biomarkers need different handling, complicating such technologies.

It develops approaches for monitoring lithium, used for bipolar disorder. Lithium needs regular checks because of its narrow therapeutic range and toxicity risk, requiring repeated serum tests. One approach uses volumetric dried blood spots for home sampling: a protocol is developed to elute and analyse lithium, then a clinical study compares the results with standard analyses. The other is a point-of-care device concept using on-chip serum separation and colorimetric detection, evaluated in patients to assess feasibility and interest in simpler testing.