SpinChip’s eponymous device is said to draw a blood sample directly from the patient’s fingertip into small analytical chips that are placed in a microcentrifuge.
Inside the chip, the fluids and dry components of the sample are separated, launching a number of reactions that take place in a series of tiny channels without any need for pumps or valves. The results are said to be read out optically within a couple of minutes.
According to a statement, current solutions have a limited repertoire of analyses and are sometimes unreliable, whereas SpinChip has the potential to perform a wider range of rapid analyses.
The analytical technology will be available as a portable instrument so that critical bioanalyses can be moved from the laboratory to hospital emergency departments, bedsides and doctors’ surgeries.
The technology was invented by Stig Morten Borch, a senior scientist at independent research organisation SINTEF, and developed for commercialisation with the help of internal SINTEF funding, plus funds from the Research Council of Norway’s FORNY Programme.
Development work on SpinChip — which SINTEF has licensed, along with two patents — is to continue to 2015.
Nanogenerator consumes CO2 to generate electricity
Whoopee, they've solved how to keep a light on but not a lot else.