University of Cincinnati engineers have made a significant breakthrough in mental health diagnostics with the development of a cutting-edge point-of-care testing device designed to measure cortisol levels from saliva samples. Led by Distinguished Research Professor Chong Ahn from the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, this innovative “lab-on-a-chip” technology promises to provide timely and objective insights into an individual’s stress hormone levels, providing a crucial new tool for diagnosing conditions such as depression and anxiety. This represents a pivotal advancement in efforts to integrate rapid biochemical analysis with accessible healthcare solutions.
The device functions through a microfluidic cartridge that collects saliva and utilizes a lateral flow assay embedded within a polymer lab-on-a-chip. Once the patient inserts this cartridge into a compact reader, the system quickly analyzes cortisol concentration, transmitting the data directly to smartphones or portable analyzers for immediate review. This capability is particularly transformative because it enables patients to conduct their own testing outside of clinical environments, facilitating real-time monitoring and convenient sharing of results with healthcare providers through web-based applications.
Mental health disorders, notably anxiety and depression, afflict over 400 million individuals worldwide and rank among the leading causes of disability globally. The hormone cortisol, often referred to as the “stress hormone,” plays a critical role in the body’s response to stress; however, sustained elevated cortisol levels have been closely linked to the pathophysiology of several mental health conditions. Traditional mental health assessments rely heavily on patient self-reporting, which can suffer from bias or underreporting. This new device provides an objective biochemical marker to supplement these evaluations, enhancing the precision of diagnoses.
The design combines microfabrication techniques with biochemical assay principles, integrating microchannels and sensitive detection reagents within a compact polymer chip. This enables rapid reaction kinetics and precise quantification of cortisol through lateral flow immunoassays, a method analogous in simplicity to common pregnancy tests but with advanced detection capabilities. The entire process from sample collection to result transmission is streamlined to take place within minutes, offering unprecedented speed for stress hormone profiling.
Co-author and doctoral candidate Supreeth Setty is expanding on this foundation by investigating dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a hormone known to counterbalance the effects of cortisol. The ratio between cortisol and DHEA in saliva can serve as a more detailed biomarker for chronic stress conditions, providing clinicians nuanced insights into a patient’s endocrine status. This additional layer of testing could refine mental health assessments and help tailor personalized intervention strategies.
Setty emphasizes that the major advantage of point-of-care testing lies in its practicality and accessibility, reducing the delays typically associated with lab-based analyses. By furnishing immediate results, medical professionals can make quicker clinical decisions, which is vital in urgent mental health scenarios. Moreover, the objective data acts as a powerful supplement to psychometric questionnaires, often limited by patients’ variable self-awareness or reluctance to disclose symptoms.
The ongoing research efforts plan to move beyond prototype validation towards extensive clinical trials involving psychiatrists and mental health practitioners. Such collaborative endeavors aim to confirm the clinical utility of this platform in diverse patient populations, evaluating its accuracy, reproducibility, and overall impact on healthcare workflows. Success in these stages could pave the way for widespread adoption and integration into both primary care and specialized psychiatric services.
Interestingly, the researchers have also extended the principle of this technology to other critical biomarkers, notably cardiac troponin. Troponin levels rise sharply in the bloodstream following myocardial damage, a key diagnostic indicator of heart attacks. Through a similar point-of-care biochemical test capable of analyzing a single drop of blood, physicians could monitor cardiac health more continuously and respond swiftly to acute events, potentially improving patient outcomes by facilitating early interventions.
In addition, the UC team has ventured into infectious disease diagnostics by engineering a new testing platform aimed at rapid COVID-19 detection. Drawing from their experience in microfluidics and lateral flow assays, this platform enhances sensitivity and turnaround times, making it well suited for widespread screening applications during pandemics or localized outbreaks. The adaptability of their lab-on-a-chip approaches underscores the broad potential of their technological innovations across diverse fields of medical diagnostics.
Professor Chong Ahn highlights the urgent need for advances in mental health care technology, particularly given the increasing global burden of stress-related disorders. “Mental health care can be an urgent situation. And so these tests will help doctors make timely interventions,” he states. By empowering patients with tools for self-testing and enabling clinicians with objective biochemical data, these devices could revolutionize mental healthcare delivery, bridging gaps in accessibility and diagnostic precision.
The development of portable, user-friendly point-of-care platforms represents a paradigm shift from centralized laboratory testing towards decentralized, patient-centric health monitoring. Such advancements align with broader trends in digital health, personalized medicine, and telehealth services. As healthcare systems grapple with expanding demand and resource constraints, technologies like this lab-on-a-chip device offer scalable solutions that maintain clinical rigor while enhancing convenience.
Through continued innovation in microengineering and biosensing, the University of Cincinnati researchers are at the forefront of transforming how stress biomarkers are detected and leveraged clinically. Their combined expertise in engineering, chemistry, and clinical collaboration exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach needed to address complex health challenges. If successful, this innovation not only promises improved mental health diagnostics but also signals a new era in point-of-care biochemical testing that could impact multiple domains of medicine.
—
Subject of Research: Point-of-care biochemical testing for mental health and cardiac biomarkers using microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology
Article Title: On-site analysis of cortisol in saliva based on microchannel lateral flow assay on polymer lab-on-a-chip
News Publication Date: 10-Apr-2025
Web References:
– https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10544-025-00733-6
– https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c06427
– https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/sd/d4sd00352g
Image Credits: Andrew Higley
Keywords: Psychiatry, Point-of-care testing, Lab-on-a-chip, Cortisol, Mental health diagnostics, Microfluidics, Stress biomarkers, Depression, Anxiety, Cardiac troponin, COVID-19 diagnostics
