This handheld device may spot TB in
just 20 minutes!
New Delhi: In what could be called as
another significant addition in the field of health, some Britain-based
technologists have come up with a smartphone-sized handheld DNA analyser that
may diagnose deadly tuberculosis (TB) in just 15-20 minutes.
This Britain-based technology company
claims that this device runs on a solar-powered battery and is a low-cost
handheld device.
"Q-Poc", as it is called, may
analyse biological samples submitted via a small-sized cartridge, the Guardian
reported.
Swabs can be used to detect
sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) while sputum is used to detect TB, its
makers claimed.
"We are now at the point that we
have a working prototype that can perform a highly sensitive tuberculosis test
from a sample through to results in 15-20 minutes," Jonathan O’Halloran,
the company’s co-founder, was quoted as saying.
According to its developers, “Q-Poc”
analyses the DNA of pathogens rather than proteins within the sample.
The device uses microfluidic technology
that allows fluids to pass through various microscopic channels.
A chemical process then breaks down the
sample into a molecular soup. It is then sent through a nanoscale-based filter
system that isolates the DNA for analysis.
The company plans to launch the product for the use by
health care providers by as early as 2018.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
26.04.2016
Finding the
possibility to do
the
impossible makes you a genius
Paul
E. Ehimen
No comments:
Post a Comment