Portable Device Rapidly Detects Infectious Diseases

A portable device can be used onsite to detect infectious diseases, pathogens, and physiological conditions in people and animals.

The new device can be used by any health care professional, anywhere. All that is needed is a droplet of blood on a microchip within the device. The microchip is treated with disease-specific antigens and it captures disease-specific antibodies in the blood.

When the antigens and antibodies match, the device indicates that the patient or animal is infected. This happens in a matter of minutes. So far, the device has been used to detect tuberculosis in humans and wild animals, as well as Johne's disease in cattle.

Developed by Jayne Wu, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (USA) and Shigetoshi Eda, associate professor of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries at the UT Institute of Agriculture Center for Wildlife Health (Knoxville, TN, USA), the new device saves time and money.

The scientists expect the device to be expanded to detect various diseases and physiological conditions. For example, they predict it could be useful in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and cancer. The device also could be valuable for applications in disease outbreaks, disaster relief, biodefense, or for detecting pathogens in food material.

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University of Tennessee Knoxville