Student doctor creates metabolic analyzer designed for use in rural clinics, settings

Campbell University student Dr. Caleb Perez builds things. Studies techniques and processes. Innovates and creates.

Ever since he was a teenager.

Perez built Go-Karts, facial recognition and SONAR systems. An AI-powered bird identification and listening station. At 17 he built a small tank, using a golf cart as its base.

"I like building stuff," say Perez, a second-year student in the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.

That's obvious. It's an impressive for any aspiring engineer - though in this case a future osteopathic physician.

"My dad taught me to weld when I was like 13, and that's probably the worst thing he ever could have done," Perez said, laughing at the joke. "I started on small projects, when I was around 14 or 15. They got more complicated the older I got."

Look no further than his latest patent-pending project, which he describes as a "Low Cost Open-Source Basic Metabolic Analyzer for Rural and Mission-Based Clinical Settings" - in other words a tool that tests patients' blood to extract metabolic data, such as results for respective levels of, initially, calcium and bilirubin.

He isn't looking for any credit or accolades. He isn't concerned about profiting from his invention.

"The only reason I'm here is because of God's grace," Perez says. "And the only reason that I built this machine - not for any kind of money - is that I want people to know that this kind of thing is possible in the mission field."

Perez had much help, support and guidance from the Campbell community and beyond, including from his fiance, Piper.

Some of the many others include Dr. Joe Cacciapo, chair of Community and Global Medicine; and Dr. Amy Hinkelman, vice chair and associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology, as well as executive director of Academic Support and Assessment. The list also includes Dr Lori Langdon, clinical chair of Pediatrics, assistant professor of Pediatrics and director of the Campbell University Health Center; and Dr. Vanessa Ayer Miller, associate professor of Clinical Research in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.

Perez borrowed the spectrophotometer used in the machine from the College of Arts & Sciences, and he got help from Dr. Jordan Womick, an associate Professor of Chemistry; and Michelle Suhan Thomas, an associate professor of Biology who provided the cuvettes.

A native of central Florida, Perez accepted a football scholarship from Campbell University, where he played tight end and offensive line at the Division I level. Here's another kicker: He earned a bachelor's of science degree in biology on his way toward becoming an osteopathic physician.

His goal is working in a rural setting and serving the underserved, speaking directly to the mission of Campbell's med school.

Perez, who wants to specialize in orthopedics, has served with the university's Community Care Clinic, which embodies that mission. Perez has served in Guatemala, for instance, as well as in Chad, on the African continent.

"I want to help people. There's too much hurting, so let's help someone. Let's heal someone. That's kind of the mindset here," he says, referencing his metabolic analyzer, which weighs about 10 pounds and is about the size of a standard briefcase, or a small piece of carry-on luggage.

He built the machine using a 3D printer, which was "integrated with an Ocean Insight USB2000 spectrometer, his research poster says. "The system automates cuvette handling, reagent mixing, blanking, and timed absorbance collection through a custom Python/Tkinter Interface."

Perez presented his work during the 9th Annual Campbell University Regional Research and Educational Symposium, held on campus in February.

He describes in painstaking detail the complex process of drawing blood and extracting plasma. Monitoring changes in the specimen and waiting for the results.

"The system automates cuvette handling, reagent mixing, blanking and timed absorbance collection through a custom Python/Tkinter Interface," according to his research.

"Calibration pairs machine absorbances with LabCorp results from the same samples, enabling accurate Standard curves without commercial standards. This project assesses the reliability of initial assays - calcium and total bilirubin - and establishes a foundation for expanding to a full BMP in a resource-limited clinical setting."

The lab results are available within minutes and his research shows the results are similar to those using industry standards on the same blood samples.

Myriad levels of government approvals, and a lot more money, are needed before Perez could take the next steps toward making his machine a viable option.

But those first steps are important ones.

"This was just a validation to show that a machine like this could be built," Perez says.

"I want to do rural medicine … medical mission work. And in the middle of Chad, Africa, you can't set up a $300,000 machine. I just wanted to show that it's possible to make something way cheaper."

Something cheaper that can run off a car battery.

Perez went online and ordered two sizes of pipettes, electronics and motors, all for about $400. He used AI to write some 1,000 lines of code. The total cost, including reagents, came to about $900, all of which he paid out of his own pocket.

No matter.

His motivation for building and helping people serves a higher power.

"I am not seeking any personal credit for this work. All glory belongs to the Most High. I simply do the work, and if He is glorified through it, then that is what truly matters."

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