Can you imagine that a small disk can conduct all the necessary medical tests that a fully equipped laboratory does?
Researchers at the Institute for Microcomputers and Information Technology in Freiburg, Germany, have invented this particular device, which is not only portable, but can also provide rapid results in emergency situations.
"The device works like this: the doctor takes a sample from the patient and then puts it into the device. Two hours after pressing the processing button, the doctor gets information about the pathologies the patient is experiencing and decides on the treatment that is necessary," points out physicist Daniel Mark.
The operation of the mini-lab is simple. Inside the machine, the DNA of the blood is analyzed and examined. If the genetic sample taken matches a pathogen, then a mark appears on the screen.
Similar devices can be used at airports to screen passengers for possible transmission of infectious diseases, or when there is a risk of a pandemic.
Food safety is another area where this device can be used. The Center for the Adequacy and Analysis of Modern Foods in Berlin has tested this laboratory tray.
"In the future, food safety issues will be much more complex than today. Controls with many different parameters will certainly increase and will be a constant need. With the mini-lab technology, we will be able to standardize this process," explains researcher Wolfgang Hauser.
But the most important application of the mini-lab will be in hospitals, where doctors often have to make very quick decisions about the fate of their patients. The mini-lab effectively helps in this quick decision-making.
Of course, several more tests with patients will be needed this year for this particular device to move to the mass production stage.
Copyright © 2014 euronews
