Norwegian company creates rapid blood-analysis device

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.