Rapid Tear Screening of Diabetic Retinopathy by A Detachable Surface Acoustic Wave Enabled Immunosensor

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a chronic and progressive microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, substantially threatens vision and is a leading cause of blindness among working-age individuals worldwide. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography are nonquantitative, invasive, and time consuming. Analysis of protein biomarkers in tear fluid offers noninvasive insights into ocular and systemic health, aiding in early DR detection. This study introduces a surface acoustic wave (SAW) microchip that rapidly enhances fluorescence in bead-based immunoassays for the sensitive and noninvasive DR detection from human tear samples.