Engineers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have created a credit card-sized portable lab that can plug into a mobile phone and diagnose infectious diseases including coronavirus, malaria, HIV or Lyme disease.

The information is then connected automatically to a doctor’s office through a custom app that gives nearly instant results.

To use the device, a patient simply puts a single-use plastic lab chip into their mouth and plugs that into a slot in the box to test their saliva.

The developers claim the device can also diagnose other health conditions, including mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.

The system was originally developed to test for malaria, but could potentially be used for point-of-care testing for several chronic or infectious diseases or to measure stress-related hormones.

The chip uses natural capillary action – the tendency for liquid to adhere to a surface – to draw a sample down two channels of a microchannel capillary flow assay. One channel mixes the sample with freeze-dried detection antibodies, while the other contains a freeze-dried luminescent material to read the results when the split samples combine again on three sensors.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The novel design of the tiny channels naturally draw the sample through sensor arrays using capillary flow.

UC doctoral student Sthitodhi Ghosh said: “The entire test takes place on the chip automatically. You don’t have to do anything. This is the future of personal healthcare.”

The developers described the device as accurate, simple to use and inexpensive.

UC professor of electrical engineering Chong Ahn said: “The performance is comparable to laboratory tests. The cost is cheaper. And it’s user-friendly. We wanted to make it simple so anyone could use it without training or support.”