UBC researchers develop handheld machine that can run medical tests

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – How many times have you watched Star Trek and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if that were real?”

Well, some UBC researchers are hoping to make one creation on the Enterprise a reality with the invention of a device that can do medical tests.

Dr. Homayoun Najjaran says the device can pick up pathogens and viruses, plus measure blood chemistry. Your smartphone slides into it and is used to run it.

“The backbone of the device in hand today is ‘lab on a chip,’ or micro total analysis,” says Najjaran.

Electrical fields are able to send little bits of just a drop of saliva or blood to many programmable cells that perform a different task.

“The device in hand, for example, for a person with diabetes, the result is immediate. You run your tests, have your results and it’s your phone. Now you’re in control of your tests.”

With some adaptation, the small machine could also be used to identify chemical weapons.

Producing each machine could cost as little as $100, according to Najjaran.

It could especially be useful in remote communities that don’t have the same access to labs as more central areas.

Although the device has been devised, the researchers need a partner to produce it.

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