Carcinoembryonic antigen detection with “Handing”-controlled fluorescence spectroscopy using a color matrix for point-of-care applications

In this study, we developed a power-free, accurate, and portable diagnostic platform called Handing based on embedded technology, which can rapidly detect fluorescent signals from quantum dots (QDs) on lateral flow test strips (LFTSs). The Handing system has three components: a hand-held test terminal, LFTS cartridge, and data server. The hand-held test terminal is the primary system component and it is integrated with tiny components using printed circuit board packaging for image acquisition, processing, and data handling by a specific program. A black smooth shell and three-dimensional printed test cartridge are used to facilitate the portability of the detection terminal, which provides a closed detection process as well as enhancing the anti-interference capacity. The functions of the data server comprise pre-editing, storage, range querying, and sharing with an international network. Multiple hand-held terminal devices can be linked simultaneously to the same data server. In this study, we detected the tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using the QD-LFTS system, which allowed quantitative analysis in the range of 1-100 ng/mL with an ideal detection limit of 0.049 ng/mL. Thus, the system is suitable for detecting CEA in the clinically accepted range. We also detected 70 positive and 30 negative serum samples using the Handing system, which exhibited good specificity and sensitivity. Thus, Handing has the capacity for rapid quantitative detection with high stability and repeatability, so it could be used for in vitro diagnostics in the laboratory and in other conditions for various applications, e.g., food evaluation, disease screening, environmental monitoring, and drug testing.