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The LBS has two components: the Liquid Biopsy Catheter (LBC) and the Blood Collection Module (BCM). The LBC is deployed within the coronary artery where it gently applies mixers that facilitate the homogenisation and collection of biomarkers released at sites of disease. Using vacuum pressure, the LBC pulls these blood samples into the BCM, which consists of removable tubes that allow storage for subsequent analysis.

 

The LBS enables collection of samples at multiple sites along the length of a target coronary artery, with the most upstream sample acting as the reference. The system incorporates data from the reference sample, which are used to eliminate background noise, and uses the remaining samples to accurately determine intra-artery changes (gradients) in biomarker levels.  This gradient approach not only avoids the issue of variability between individuals – a common issue with conventional blood sampling methods – it also easily identifies which of the many putative biomarkers are locally elevated at the most critical site of disease.