Enhancing access to sickle cell disease diagnosis in Africa using the Gazelle® portable digital microchip electrophoresis platform.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a genetic blood disorder, claims the lives of thousands of young children in Africa every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 75% of the diagnosed cases of the disease are within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with the mortality rate of children under five years of age soaring up to 90% and an estimated 80% of the affected children remain undiagnosed. Early diagnosis and early preventive treatment have been effective in easing the disease's life-threatening manifestations. However, this requires the availability of simple, accurate and affordable diagnostic tools suitable for resource-limited environments where access to proper diagnostics and clinical care remain a challenge and where reliable data on the true prevalence rates of SCD is still needed. Here, we present the results of a large-scale clinical study in Nigeria utilizing a portable platform that pairs a novel hemoglobin variant microchip electrophoresis testing technology and wireless networks to overcome this issue. This platform has great potential to expedite diagnosis, clinic referrals and patient tracking and follow-up. The platform also produces reports for all cases of SCD, which can be used to develop a comprehensive medical informatics architecture that facilitates local and national responses.