New Chip Can Diagnose Disease Faster Using Less Blood Than Current Methods
The BBC reports that scientists at IBM's research labs in Zurich have developed a tiny chip, called a microfludic chip, that can be used to rapidly diganose disease. The chips contain patterns of microchannels. Each of the microchannels contains different antibodies which can be used to identify different diseases as the blood flows into them. With the chip only a very small amount of a patient's blood is needed. Physicians could use a finger prick where a syringe was needed in the past.
"Typically you'll take a couple of millilitres of blood send it to the central lab and it can take up to an hour or even more to get the results," Dr Gervais said.
"In our case you can get a quantitative analysis of the patient's blood within just a few minutes at the bedside of the patient."
What is more, it can be done with just a few microlitres of blood - a thousand times less - an amount that could be collected with a prick of a finger instead of a syringe.
IBM scientists says the chips requires less sample volume, is significantly faster, portable, easy to use and can test for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease. You can read IBM's announcement here.
