{"id":4180,"date":"2025-05-26T10:18:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T10:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=4180"},"modified":"2025-05-26T10:18:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T10:18:16","slug":"uc-engineers-develop-lab-on-a-chip-device-to-diagnose-depression-and-anxiety-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=4180","title":{"rendered":"UC Engineers Develop Lab-on-a-Chip Device to Diagnose Depression and Anxiety at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Engineers at the University of Cincinnati have created a groundbreaking &#8220;lab-on-a-chip&#8221; device that measures cortisol levels in saliva, offering a new tool for diagnosing depression and anxiety. Published in&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1007\/s10544-025-00733-6\"><em>Biomedical Microdevices<\/em><\/a>, this innovation could revolutionize mental health care by providing objective, rapid results and enabling timely interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The device, developed by Distinguished Research Professor Chong Ahn and his team, consists of a disposable saliva collector and a reader that transmits results to a smartphone within minutes. Elevated cortisol levels are linked to stress disorders, which affect over 400 million people globally. Unlike traditional questionnaires, this test provides clinicians with objective data, even if patients underreport symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctoral student Supreeth Setty, a co-author of the study, highlighted the device&#8217;s potential to measure another hormone, DHEA, which counteracts cortisol. High cortisol-to-DHEA ratios may indicate chronic stress or depression. The team plans to collaborate with psychiatrists for clinical trials to validate the platform&#8217;s effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The technology also extends to other health issues, such as heart disease. In a related study published in&nbsp;<em>Analytical Chemistry<\/em>, the team developed a device to measure troponin, a protein released during heart attacks, enabling rapid point-of-care testing for cardiac conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Chong Ahn emphasized,&nbsp;<em>&#8220;Mental health care can be an urgent situation. These tests will help doctors make timely interventions.&#8221;<\/em>&nbsp;Setty added,&nbsp;<em>&#8220;Point-of-care testing is a practical way to make results available quickly for everyone.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This lab-on-a-chip device represents a significant advancement in diagnosing mental health disorders and cardiac conditions. By providing fast, objective results, it could improve early detection and treatment, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Engineers at the University of Cincinnati have created a groundbreaking &#8220;lab-on-a-chip&#8221; device that measures cortisol levels in saliva, offering a new tool for diagnosing depression and anxiety. Published in&nbsp;Biomedical Microdevices, this innovation could revolutionize mental health care by providing objective, rapid results and enabling timely interventions. The device, developed by Distinguished Research Professor Chong Ahn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786],"tags":[1787,1848],"class_list":["post-4180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biomedical-engineering","tag-biomedical-engineering","tag-lab-on-a-chip"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4182,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180\/revisions\/4182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}