Development of Prototype Kit for Portable Drug Allergy Testing

Abstract The prototype kit for portable drug allergy testing is proposed and developed for easy-to-use in provincial hospitals where the standard equipment for in vitro drug allergy diagnosis is still lacking. The Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Spot (ELISpot) technique is adopted for this purpose due to its high sensitivity and specificity to detect cytokine-releasing cells, which is precise and suitable for non-instantaneously allergic tests. A developed prototype for drug allergy testing has been considered in various aspects of the three main designs, comprising of the proposed testing procedure kit, the heat generating system to control temperature, and the prototype structure. All parts and prototype kits are modeled by using 3D printing technology. The electrical circuit system developed and employed in the prototype kit could generate the heat to control the required temperature between 36.5 °C and 37.5 °C, which is the optimum temperature for cull culture. Compared to the standard equipment, our portable prototype kit yielded good diagnostic values (80% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 90% accuracy), which are satisfactory and acceptable as a practical tool to identify the culprit drugs.