{"id":10707,"date":"2024-10-29T08:39:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=10707"},"modified":"2024-10-29T08:39:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:39:26","slug":"purdue-innovations-detect-lead-exposure-faster-easier-and-with-greater-precision-at-the-point-of-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q4\/purdue-innovations-detect-lead-exposure-faster-easier-and-with-greater-precision-at-the-point-of-care","title":{"rendered":"Purdue innovations detect lead exposure faster, easier and with greater precision at the point of care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 Exposure to lead can adversely impact people\u2019s health in several ways. A Purdue University researcher in the College of Health and Human Sciences<\/a> has developed noninvasive methods that detect levels of lead exposure in bone and blood faster, easier and with greater sensitivity at the point of care than traditional methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative patent-pending technology created by Aaron Specht<\/a>, assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences<\/a>, allows portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers to measure lead exposure in bone and blood. Specht said bone measurements are important to detect chronic exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLead mimics calcium when it enters the body, hijacking pathways to the brain and causing havoc,\u201d he said. \u201cBut like calcium, it accumulates in bone itself. By analyzing bone, we get a measure of 90% of the lead that was ingested. Because bone turns over so slowly, we can measure a very long accumulation time: up to 30 years\u2019 worth of exposure with this new method.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht has also created a method to detect lead levels in drops of dried blood. He said the traditional method for blood assessments requires taking a venous draw then sending it to a lab for analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur new method detects lead using dried blood spots, which are much easier to collect; they require just a finger prick and only a very small volume of capillary blood,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as there\u2019s more than 10 microliters of blood on that dried blood spot, we will have an accurate measurement of lead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht said the Purdue innovations have applications for health officials around the world, including those who serve hard-to-reach populations and rural communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be difficult to assess their lead exposure levels because it\u2019s hard to get them to a centralized clinic, unlike in an urban environment where people visit a clinic often,\u201d he said. \u201cBy using a portable XRF analyzer, health officials can travel to a community, conduct testing, quickly receive results and move on to the next community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht\u2019s research into the separate methods has been published in the September 2024 issue of Current Environmental Health Reports<\/a> and the March 2021 issue of Environmental Science & Technology<\/a>, both peer-reviewed publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht disclosed the innovations to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a>, which has applied for patents to protect the intellectual property. Industry partners interested in developing or commercializing them should contact Patrick Finnerty, senior business development and licensing manager \u2014 life sciences, at pwfinnerty@prf.org<\/a>, about track codes 69970<\/a> and 70284<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Purdue
Aaron Specht demonstrates using a portable XRF analyzer to detect levels of lead exposure in bone. (Purdue University photo\/Alison Roth)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Testing bone for lead exposure levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Exposure to lead can lead to damage to the brain and central nervous system, development and growth delays, learning and behavior problems, hearing and speech problems, reproductive health problems, kidney injury, high blood pressure, anemia, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht said the industry standard to measure lead exposure is a blood test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat test only measures the past 30 days,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the test is administered outside that 30-day window, especially in children, you\u2019re unlikely to get a result that is reflective of the chronic cumulative activity in the body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht said older technology used to measure bone lead exposure levels has drawbacks including size, expert knowledge, rare elements and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt weighs about 150 pounds because it requires liquid nitrogen-cooled detectors,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is incredibly difficult to use; we had trained physicists who would operate the system. It uses a cadmium source, which was produced in Russia, but we can\u2019t buy anymore. And it takes 30 minutes to complete one measurement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Specht\u2019s method with portable XRFs addresses those drawbacks for bone tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI train people to use this system in 30 minutes. It\u2019s a very simple \u2018point-and-shoot\u2019 process, and the XRF analyzer\u2019s tablet reads out the results within a few minutes,\u201d Specht said. \u201cOnce trained, that person will be able to do measurements to identify community-level lead exposures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specht said the next step to develop the innovation is getting health leaders\u2019 buy-in to use it in national cohort studies and routine surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can then determine what national standards for cumulative lead exposure looks like,\u201d he said. \u201cThe main argument for continuing to use blood tests is that we have used them in the past, but the advantages for bone in identifying real health consequences should outweigh our stubbornness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving blood tests for lead exposure levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As with the bone test technology, Specht\u2019s innovation to test dried blood spots improves the accessibility for hard-to-reach communities and rural populations. But it also has a better sensitivity than currently available tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current blood lead measurement technology has a detection limit that is higher than the level that we know causes harm,\u201d he said. \u201cThat technology may measure as low as 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, but there will be no result for someone slightly below that. Our detection limit is 1 microgram per deciliter, which most experts agree is the level of detection to identify if someone is truly harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense and the JPB Foundation have provided funding to support Specht\u2019s research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a> operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university\u2019s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2024, the office reported 145 deals finalized with 224 technologies signed, 466 invention disclosures received, and 290 U.S. and international patents received. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Media contact:<\/strong> Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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