High-frequency Contactless Sensor for the Detection of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Antibodies via Platelet Aggregation.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a severe autoimmune disorder, occurs in patients undergoing heparin therapy. The presence of platelet-activating antibodies against platelet factor 4/Heparin in the blood confirms patients suffering from HIT. The most widely used methods for HIT diagnosis are immunoassays but the results only suit to rule out HIT as the assays provide only around 50% specificity.

Front end with offset-free symmetrical current source optimized for time domain impedance spectroscopy.

Fast impedance measurements are often performed in time domain utilizing broad bandwidth excitation signals. Other than in frequency domain measurements harmonic distortion cannot be compensated which requires careful design of the analog front end. In order to minimize the influence of electrode polarization and noise, especially in low-frequency measurements, current injection shows several advantages compared to voltage application.

New type of dry substances content meter using microwaves for application in biogas plants.

Dry substances (DS) are an important index for monitoring and controlling anaerobic co-digestion in biogas plants. We have developed and tested an online meter that measures suspended solids by means of the reflection coefficient of an exiting microwave signal, which is dependent on the dielectric properties of the suspensions. Intelligent models based on partial least squares regression (PLSR) and artificial neural network (ANN) for calibration allow exact and reproducible measurements under different circumstances.