Timely diagnosis of a heart attack is the first and most important step toward initiating appropriate treatment. Currently, an accurate assessment involves multiple laboratory tests, which are time consuming and require multiple blood samples. Now a new lab-on-a-chip allows clinicians to diagnose a cardiac event quickly and easily using a simple saliva test. Called the Electronic Taste Chip (ETC), it analyzes a sample for a variety of biomarker proteins that have been linked with coronary heart disease (CHD). Instead of waiting for tests at the hospital, the test can be administered in the ambulance, saving valuable time and allowing for earlier intervention.

Could the future of this technology allow for easy and early diagnosis of other diseases including cancer? Think of the ease in performing this test versus taking a blood sample.

http://bit.ly/6XIwKW

Tags: Biomarkers, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Healthcare, Medical Advances, opportunity, problem solving, Saliva Test

Posting on January 20th, 2010 under Future Tech, New Tools, Solving Problems. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.