Methods for detecting fetal abnormality

• US 20070059716A1
• Filed: 09/15/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gpb Scientific, LLC, Mehmet Toner
• Original Assignee: Mehmet Toner
• Inventors: Toner, Mehmet, Walsh, John, Kapur, Ravi, Balis, Ulysses
• Application Number:
  US11/228,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20070059716A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0668 Trapping microscopic beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/086 using baffles or other fixed flow obstructions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502746 characterised by the means for controlling flow resistance, e.g. flow controllers, baffles B01L3/502738 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502753 characterised by bulk separation arrangements on lab-on-a-chip devices, e.g. for filtration or centrifugation separation in general B01D; microapparatus for analysis using electrophoresis G01N27/44791; sample preparation G01N1/28
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502761 specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads, for physically stretching molecules investigating characteristics of particles G01N15/00
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6881 for tissue or cell typing, e.g. human leukocyte antigen [HLA] probes
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2600/156 Polymorphic or mutational markers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1486 Counting the particles

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of identifying fetal abnormality from a maternal blood sample by capturing an image of a fetal nucleated red blood cell obtained from the maternal blood sample; inputting probe intensities for a plurality of nucleic acid probes that bind fetal nucleic acids of interest; analyzing the probe intensities; and generating a diagnostic output according to results of the analysis. In some embodiments, the probes are specific to a chromosome.

Claims

1. A method of identifying fetal abnormality, comprising:

delivering a maternal blood sample from a pregnant female to a flow though module which deterministically separates fetal cells in said sample;

delivering said separated fetal cells to an analyzer adapted for capturing an image of one or more fetal cell enriched from said blood sample;

analyzing signals from one or more nucleic acid probes that bind fetal nucleic acids;

analyzing said signals; and

generating a diagnostic output according based on said analyzing step.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said probes are specific to a chromosome.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said chromosome is selected from the group consisting of:

X chromosome, Y chromosome, chromosome 21, chromosome 13 and chromosome 18.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said analyzing comprises determining number of said probe signals, determining size of said probe signals, determining shape of said probe signals, determining aspect ratio of said probe signals, or determining distribution of said probe signals.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said female is at 12 weeks or less gestation.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said flow through module comprises one or more two dimensional arrays of obstacles wherein said obstacles define gaps which direct the sample flow unequally into subsequent gaps.

5. A computer program product that detects a condition of a fetus comprising:

computer code that detects nucleated red blood cells in a sample;

computer code that receives probe signals from one or more nucleic acid probes that bind nucleic acids of interest;

computer code that analyzes said probe signals to detect one or more fetal cells;

computer code that analyzes said probe signals to detect a condition in said one or more fetal cells; and

a computer readable medium that stores the computer codes.

6. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein the computer readable medium is a memory, hard drive, floppy disk, CD-ROM, flash memory, or tape.

7. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein said probes are specific to a chromosome.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein said chromosome is selected from the group consisting of:

X chromosome, Y chromosome, chromosome 21, chromosome 13 and chromosome 18.

9. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein said probes are calorimetric probes.

10. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein said probes are fluorescent probes.