Prostate cancer and microfluids.

Microfluidic systems aim to detect sample matter quickly with high sensitivity and resolution, on a small scale. With its increased use in medicine, the field is showing significant promise in prostate cancer diagnosis and management due, in part, to its ability to offer point-of-care testing. This review highlights some of the research that has been undertaken in respect of prostate cancer and microfluidics.

Electrowetting-based Digital Microfluidics Platform for Automated Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay.

Electrowetting is the effect by which the contact angle of a droplet exposed to a surface charge is modified. Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) exploits the dielectric properties of thin insulator films to enhance the charge density and hence boost the electrowetting effect. The presence of charges results in an electrically induced spreading of the droplet which permits purposeful manipulation across a hydrophobic surface.

Fully integrated digital microfluidics platform for automated immunoassay; A versatile tool for rapid, specific detection of a wide range of pathogens.

With the tangible threat posed by the release of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents, detection of airborne pathogens is a critical military and security concern. Recent air sampling techniques developed for biocollection take advantage of Electrowetting on Dielectric (EWOD) to recover material, producing highly concentrated droplet samples. Bespoke EWOD-based digital microfluidics platforms are very well suited to take full advantage of the microlitre concentrated droplet resulting from this recovery process.

British Thoracic Society Study on cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis: Response to treatment and survival.

Background And Objective: The initial results of a survey of 588 patients with a clinical presentation of cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (CFA) also known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, have been published. This article reports further results pertaining to response to treatment and survival.

Methods: Data on the treatment given and lung function response were collected over 4-6 years.

Metastatic lung and pleural malignancy presenting as bilateral acute anterior uveitis.

Anterior uveitis is associated with a variety of underlying systemic diseases but the association between bilateral acute anterior uveitis (BAAU) and lung and pleural malignancy is not widely recognized. The case is described here of a 61-year-old woman presenting to an eye clinic with BAAU. A routine chest radiograph performed principally to exclude pulmonary sarcoidosis revealed an intrapulmonary mass and she was subsequently found to have widespread lung and pleural malignancies.