Researchers in the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) have developed a fast, portable and inexpensive way to test humans and animals for different types of chronic and infectious diseases. This new “point of care” method tests for signals of infection, such as specific antibodies, in blood, milk or saliva samples.
“For a long time, there’s been a need in the health-care system for a diagnostic device that’s available to test for anything, anywhere, anytime, to anyone,” says Jeroen De Buck, associate professor, bacteriology, at UCVM.
De Buck and PhD student Marija Drikic built on the concept of a simple glucometer — the device used to monitor blood sugar levels in diabetic patients — to develop their new biosensor technology.
“Glucometers are arguably the most successful class of biosensors currently on the market,” says De Buck. “We aimed to develop a technology similar in design and function but with the versatility to detect of a wide range of signals of infection.”
Continue reading at University of Calgary.
Image via University of Calgary.