Biomedical engineers are getting closer to perfecting novel lab-on-a-chip technology. The latest breakthrough from Rutgers University shows promising results for significant cost cutbacks on life-saving tests for disorders ranging from HIV to Lyme disease.
This from Rutgers University:
The new device uses miniaturized channels and values to replace “benchtop” assays – tests that require large samples of blood or other fluids and expensive chemicals that lab technicians manually mix in trays of tubes or plastic plates with cup-like depressions.
Changing Clinical Practice
The new development builds on previous lab-on-a-chip research, such as the device from Brigham Young University to improve and simplify the speed of detection of prostate cancer and kidney disease. Researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne have also propelled this novel research with their lab-on-a-chip device that can make the study of tumor cells significantly more efficient.
By using microfluidics technology, the Rutgers University lab-on-a-chip device allows for more affordable tests that can still perform highly complex analysis.
“The main advantage is cost – these assays are done in labs and clinics everywhere,” said Mehdi Ghodbane, a biomedical engineer from Rutgers University.
Additionally, the device can automate some of the more complex testing protocols that typically require skilled labor.
“The results are as sensitive and accurate as the standard benchtop assay,” said Martin Yarmush, a distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers University.
The new development could mean big breakthroughs for research in such areas as joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
