Handheld Mobile Lab Sequences DNA In Real Time
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
A handheld lab from QuantuMDx can diagnose malaria in just 15 minutes and has the potential to diagnose other illnesses just as quickly.
Real time diagnosis via DNA sequencing in a handheld mobile lab - is it something out of science fiction? No, in fact, this technology is giving healthcare and aid workers in third world countries the ability to diagnose and treat malaria in a matter of just 15 minutes.
The developer, QuantuMDx, says the handheld DNA lab could be deployed later this year in clinical trials in Gabon. mHealth News reports it would first be used to test for malaria, which kills more than 660,000 of the more than 200 million people it affects.
Calling the device “an infectious disease monitoring system wherein GPS data and real-time DNA sequence data are immediately analyzed and used to track emerging new infectious disease threats and drug resistance,” QuantuMDx co-founder and chief scientific officer Jonathan O'Halloran claims that it “will be significantly faster than relying on traditional methods of identifying and monitoring these diseases."
O'Halloran said in Nanotechnology Now, "After six years of development, it is rewarding to finally hold in my hand a prototype of our disposable test cartridge. This device represents a significant piece in the puzzle for my vision of a global network- an infectious disease monitoring system, wherein GPS data and real-time DNA sequence data are immediately analyzed and used to track emerging new infectious disease threats and drug resistance.”
Starting with malaria, this system will benefit not just the patient but also epidemiologists and public health officials, as real-time identification of novel pathogens and drug resistance mutations will allow for the mobilization of resources including the correct anti-infective to the exact site that these diseases originate. This will be significantly faster than relying on traditional methods of identifying and monitoring these diseases."
According to Engaget, the cost of the device will be comparable to that of a smartphone, and cartridges will be only $5 to $10.