# Reducing the incidence of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy with PointCheck: a portable non-invasive neutropenia analyzer

> **NIH NIH R43** · LEUKO LABS, INC. · 2020 · $55,000

## Abstract

Every year in the US, 650,000 cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy. As a side effect, 
their neutrophil counts (number of white blood cells that aid in fighting infections) become low 
(referred to as neutropenia) and expose them to febrile neutropenia (FN) which are episodes 
of serious infection that entail costly hospitalization and sometimes death. If 
neutropenia is detected early, FN can be avoided through timely delivery of 
prophylactic antibiotics or growth stimulating factors. Currently, neutrophil measurements require 
visits to healthcare centers. This increases infection risk (as measurements are taken infrequently 
and low counts may not be detected before infections ensue) and reduces chemotherapy efficacy (as 
chemotherapy levels are kept at the lower end of frequency and dose for safety). We aim to overcome 
this limitation with PointCheck, a noninvasive neutrophil test that can be used frequently in 
local health centers or at home, enabling physicians to minimize infections and 
personalize chemotherapy planning. The basis for our technology is noninvasive optical imaging of 
microcirculation in nailfold capillaries. We conducted a pilot clinical study where trained 
 nurses used PointCheck to acquire data from 46 chemotherapy patients. By manually analyzing 
a training dataset (N=38 measurements from 16 patients), we built a labeled dataset of flow gaps in 
the microcirculation that can be considered proxies of neutrophils and demonstrated their number 
can be used to distinguish baseline patients (>500 neutrophils/mm3) from grade IV neutropenic ones 
(<500/mm3). However, the need for manual analysis makes the technology inaccessible to patients on 
its current status. With support from SBIR Phase I, we will (a) develop algorithms that automatize 
the manual data processing workflow employed on our training set, (b) test those algorithms on our 
acquired and unanalyzed testing database (N=103 measurements from 30 patients) and (c) generate 
additional performance data including further intermediate neutrophil ranges (>500 and <1,500 
neutrophils/mm3), thus fulfilling the requirements for a minimum viable product. The consecution of 
these milestones will enable, in Phase II, using PointCheck in a multi-site diagnostic validation 
trial to confirm, under clinical conditions, that the management of FN can be improved with this 
new paradigm.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10091634
- **Project number:** 3R43CA228920-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** LEUKO LABS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Carlos Castro-Gonzalez
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $55,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-07-12 → 2020-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10091634

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10091634, Reducing the incidence of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy with PointCheck: a portable non-invasive neutropenia analyzer (3R43CA228920-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10091634. Licensed CC0.

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