Assessment of Hypercoagulable State in Whole Blood in Sepsis Patients Using a Novel Microfluidic Dielectric Sensor

Background: There is an intimate link between inflammation and thrombosis, and patients with pro-inflammatory/infectious disorders develop a hypercoagulable state. Extant coagulation assays are unable to distinguish the pro-coagulant state of a patient's blood, require 2-3 mL of blood, and take 2-3 hours for processing. These assays are also typically examined in plasma and do not represent the contribution of blood cellular elements that participate in thrombosis in vivo. Thus, a point-of-care device for rapid, comprehensive assessment of whole blood coagulation is crucial to ensure appropriate and timely evaluation in critically ill patients. We have introduced a microfluidic sensor (ClotChip) that uses dielectric spectroscopy to provide such an assessment in a handheld platform. We have shown in clinical studies in patients with a hypocoagulable state that ClotChip is sensitive to both coagulation factor and platelet defects, allowing for a global assessment of blood coagulation status using