RAPTOR platform transforms fertility diagnoses

Researchers at Imperial College London and The University of Hong Kong have developed a platform called RAPTER (Robotic APTamer-enabled Electrochemical Reader), that uses a biosensor together with a 96-well robotic testing system connected to a laptop to measure the rise and fall of luteinizing hormone which can diagnose fertility issues. This effectively automates the process of fertility testing, is a cheaper alternative, and can provide instant results.
Professor Waljit Dhillo, NIHR Research Professor in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Imperial College London, and one of the lead authors of the study, said: “Reproductive health issues are common amongst women in the UK and around the world. Diagnosis of some of these conditions can be lengthy resulting in delays to treatment. Reproductive health issues can also impact on women’s mental and physical wellbeing. There is a clear need for new and better ways to diagnose these conditions more quickly. Our technology will be able to give clinicians a faster and more accurate diagnosis of hormone pulsatility that affects reproductive health, which could lead to better and more targeted treatments for women.”
Professor Tony Cass, a senior author of the study from the Chemistry Department at Imperial College London, said: “We have developed technology that is able to measure LH pulsatility in patients more quickly and cheaply than current methods. We will now work towards making the technology more accessible for the clinic by reducing the size of the device, which could revolutionise the clinical care of patients with reproductive or other disorders.”