Development and characterization of a miniaturized focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) system to enable rapid, point-of-care genetic testing
- 1Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Abstract
Point-of-care (POC) molecular detection has enabled rapid and accessible testing at or near the site of need, facilitating timely decision-making in clinical, field, and industrial settings. Despite these advancements, molecular detection platforms remain limited in their ability to prepare DNA from complex tissue matrices, restricting their applicability to a narrow range of sample types. To address sample preparation inefficiencies, focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) has been developed for the rapid release of DNA from robust tissue matrices. FUSE disintegrates target tissue and releases DNA by delivering high pressure ultrasound pulses that generate a cavitation bubble cloud. In prior work, FUSE was performed using large, laboratory-based equipment. Here, a miniaturized FUSE device was designed and tested to enable POC DNA sample preparation. Design constraints were defined based on prior FUSE experiments, and based on these metrics, a 750 kHz cylindrical transducer was fabricated. The pressure output was measured, and high-speed optical imaging demonstrated that the transducer generated sustained cavitation within the defined focal region. The feasibility of DNA extraction from piscine and timber tissues was evaluated, and results show that the device can release DNA with quality suitable for PCR-based detection from both tissue types. These results demonstrate the potential of this device to rapidly extract DNA from complex samples and expand the applicability of molecular detection platforms.
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BibTeX
@misc{stettinius2026development,
title = {{Development and characterization of a miniaturized focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) system to enable rapid, point-of-care genetic testing}},
author = {A. Stettinius and A. Maxwell and K. Canavan and M. Jeon and D. Yang and G. Lopez and A. Griggs and M. Winters and Q. Zhang and J. Holliday and E. Vlaisavljevich and H. Holmes},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.24.754152},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754152v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Development and characterization of a miniaturized focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) system to enable rapid, point-of-care genetic testing
AU - A. Stettinius
AU - A. Maxwell
AU - K. Canavan
AU - M. Jeon
AU - D. Yang
AU - G. Lopez
AU - A. Griggs
AU - M. Winters
AU - Q. Zhang
AU - J. Holliday
AU - E. Vlaisavljevich
AU - H. Holmes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.24.754152
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754152v1
AB - Point-of-care (POC) molecular detection has enabled rapid and accessible testing at or near the site of need, facilitating timely decision-making in clinical, field, and industrial settings. Despite these advancements, molecular detection platforms remain limited in their ability to prepare DNA from complex tissue matrices, restricting their applicability to a narrow range of sample types. To address sample preparation inefficiencies, focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) has been developed for the rapid release of DNA from robust tissue matrices. FUSE disintegrates target tissue and releases DNA by delivering high pressure ultrasound pulses that generate a cavitation bubble cloud. In prior work, FUSE was performed using large, laboratory-based equipment. Here, a miniaturized FUSE device was designed and tested to enable POC DNA sample preparation. Design constraints were defined based on prior FUSE experiments, and based on these metrics, a 750 kHz cylindrical transducer was fabricated. The pressure output was measured, and high-speed optical imaging demonstrated that the transducer generated sustained cavitation within the defined focal region. The feasibility of DNA extraction from piscine and timber tissues was evaluated, and results show that the device can release DNA with quality suitable for PCR-based detection from both tissue types. These results demonstrate the potential of this device to rapidly extract DNA from complex samples and expand the applicability of molecular detection platforms.
ER -