New device for low-cost single-cell analysis identifies fibroblast subtypes in rheumatoid arthritis patients
(PHYSorg.com Medicine & Health)

Single-cell analysis holds enormous potential to study how individual cells influence disease and respond to treatment, but the lack of cost-effective and user-friendly instrumentation remains challenging. As described in a study published today in Nature Communications, researchers at the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and New York University (NYU) have taken steps to facilitate broad access to single-cell sequencing by developing a 3D-printed, portable and low-cost microfluidic controller. To demonstrate the utility of the instrument in clinical environments, the researchers deployed the device to study synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).