Academics at Loughborough University hope to boost early detection rates of cancer in developing countries with their portable lab-in-a-briefcase that can operate even at high temperatures.
Believed to be the first kit of its kind dedicated to the portable measurement of cancer biomarkers, the concept is the brainchild of Dr Nuno Reis, a Lecturer in Chemical Engineering. The full study has been published in the Lab on a Chip journal.
The number of people dying from cancer in developing countries is on the increase, partly due to steadily ageing populations, but also due to limited access to proper diagnostic tools. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for over 8 million deaths per year, and 70% of the world’s cancer deaths occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. The number of new cancer cases is expected to rise by 70% over the next two decades[1].
With the help of his Research Associate Ana Isabel Barbosa, Dr Reis has developed a solution for diagnostic testing in remote areas of developing countries that lack adequate technology to support a full laboratory.
The lab-in-a-briefcase comprises of four components; a manually driven multi-syringe device capable of performing up to 80 simultaneous tests from whole blood samples at any one time; microwell plates pre-loaded with assay reagents; a portable USB-powered film scanner to image the test strips; and a portable computer for real-time data analysis.
The entire system can be carried in a small briefcase, handbag or laptop case, and requires just one operator with minimal training to conduct the test within 15 minutes – with no need for additional equipment or instruments.
One of the remarkable features of the lab-in-a-briefcase is that it uses whole blood without the need for any sample preparation – a previously challenging task outside of a laboratory setting.
A new affordable and disposable microfluidic test strip – comprising of tiny tubes about the size of a human hair – is used specifically for the quick measurement of different types of cancer biomarkers in a whole blood sample. This technology, which operates in a similar way to a pregnancy test, has already been used successfully by Dr Reis in a separate study that detected prostate cancer with the help of a smartphone camera.
Dr Reis said: “Our lab-in-a-briefcase is both inexpensive and simple to use; it means that high precision diagnostic kits, complete with clinical laboratory equipment, can be made accessible to remote populations, and this is what makes it a truly life-changing concept for the screening and monitoring of different types of cancer.
“This portable lab can really make a difference, boosting levels of cancer detection in developing countries where ordinarily people would not have such easy access to early diagnostics. I envisage that our lab-in-a-briefcase could also be developed further in the future to allow for rapid testing of infectious diseases and allergens.”
Read more: Loughborough University unveils world’s first lab-in-a-briefcase
The Latest on: Lab-in-a-briefcase
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Lab-in-a-briefcase” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Lab-in-a-briefcase
- WDSU Investigates: A look inside water testing labs across the areaon May 9, 2024 at 8:37 am
For the first time, Jefferson Parish, the Sewerage & Water Board in New Orleans and the Louisiana Department of Health in Baton Rouge are allowing our cameras inside their testing sites. So we can ...
- Getting wild mosquitoes back to the lab alive takes a custom backpackon May 9, 2024 at 6:00 am
The new low-tech transportation method could help scientists in Africa assess if malaria-carrying mosquitoes are resistant to a common insecticide.
- YSRCP & TDP-led alliance race to bag Backward Caste votes in Godavari region's poll laboratoryon May 9, 2024 at 12:01 am
Sadly, the majority of voters in this region, particularly in rural areas, cast their votes based on caste lines. Our country will progress only if people go beyond politics, castes and vote based on ...
- Your Community in Brief: Lake County events and news, starting May 10on May 8, 2024 at 8:06 pm
Upcoming Lake County events include the annual eBird Global Big Day event in Minneola on May 11 and Smokey the Bear’s 80th birthday celebration at the Astor County LIbrary.
- How we test mattresses in the Reviewed labson May 7, 2024 at 3:41 pm
With the explosion in popularity of online mattress brands, it’s never been easier to find the sleeping surface of your dreams. However, the sheer variety of foam, hybrid, and innerspring mattresses ...
- Is Your Sleeping Bag Lying To You? Yes and No.on May 7, 2024 at 12:15 pm
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night camping or backpacking, a little cold, and wondering why you aren’t warm in your cozy sleeping bag that should definitely be warm enough for the ...
- Archaeopteryx — one of Field Museum's greatest acquisitions — emerged from briefcase in Switzerland hotelon May 6, 2024 at 1:53 pm
On Monday, the Field unveiled its Archaeopteryx, one of only about a dozen such specimens ever found and the only one housed in a “major natural history museum in the Western Hemisphere,” according to ...
- Sierra Nevada records snowiest day of the season from brief but potent California stormon May 5, 2024 at 5:37 pm
A weekend spring storm that drenched the San Francisco Bay area and closed Northern California mountain highways also set a single-day snowfall record for the season on Sunday in the Sierra Nevada.
- CCSD in brief: Admission OK'd for Joint Base Charleston families, national contest finalist, and moreon May 3, 2024 at 2:59 am
Jessie Leitzel, a senior at Charleston County School of the Arts, earned a spot in the top nine at national Poetry Out Loud Competition. She participated in Washington, D.C., for the national finals.
- Body found in duffel bag in Philadelphia identified as 4-year-old reported missing in Decemberon May 2, 2024 at 10:24 am
The body of a child found in a duffel bag in Philadelphia in March has been identified as that of a missing 4-year-old boy.
via Bing News