Warren, White, and Rzasa Develop Portable Assay to Rapidly Detect Organ Failure Risk

A new paper published by a Fischell Institute team details a portable device that could help doctors quickly assess a patient’s risk of multiple organ failure after severe trauma.

The study, led by Fischell Department of Bioengineering Ph.D. student Rachel Warren, Ian White, Fischell Institute fellow, bioengineering professor and associate chair, and John Rzasa, Fischell Institute chief engineer, was published in Sensors & Actuators B: Chemical, an international journal highlighting breakthroughs in biosensing and diagnostic technologies.

“When patients suffer severe trauma, they are likely to experience multiple organ failures, which can be deadly,” said White. “It is suspected that this occurs because severe trauma causes a large release of histones, a type of protein, into blood circulation and damages blood vessels and organs.”

To help detect this early, the team created PHAST (Portable Histone Assay Technology), a small, affordable device that can identify histones from a drop of blood. The device uses a DNA-based signal that lights up when histones are present and can deliver results in 15 minutes.

PHAST can be used in emergency rooms, military field hospitals, and for the in-home monitoring of organ transplant patients.

“Building a compact electro-optical measurement system to improve patient outcomes in emergency settings was both challenging and rewarding,” said Rzasa.

“The hardest part was that the high concentration of blood cells made it tough to measure our target accurately,” White added. “We went through several design iterations before finally landing on a solution that worked.”

Warren helped with prototyping the device, developing the assay, and performing testing and validation.

“Although this project had many challenges, I'm glad I saw it through,” she said. “I believe this technology has the potential to be lifesaving.”

White leads the Amplified Molecular Sensors Lab, where Warren is a member. The lab’s work focuses on creating next-generation diagnostic tools that are faster, simpler, and more accessible.

“Recently, lateral flow tests have emerged to address some point-of-care testing needs,” said White. “However, they are not sufficiently sensitive for many applications, and they cannot handle complicated sample matrices like whole blood. We aim to develop rapid tests that can be performed anywhere, that can detect targets in complicated samples like blood, and have the sensitivity to detect diseases early.”

This project reflects White’s lab and Rzasa’s shared goal of creating powerful, easy-to-use tools that bring lab-quality testing to people wherever they are.

The PHAST research was supported by the NIH/NHLBI Catalyze translational program and the Maryland Device Development Fund.

Published October 10, 2025