Generally, getting the results of an HIV test takes a few days, however, a new chip, around the size of a credit card, only takes about 15 minutes to diagnose a blood sample. The chip, dubbed the mChip, developed by Columbia University researchers, reportedly has a 100 percent detection rate, and on top of that, only costs about one dollar.
After taking a small sample of blood, the microfluidics-based chip diagnoses said sample via an optical sensor to determine whether or not the patient has HIV or syphilis. However, even though the mChip has a reported 100 percent detection rate, it also has a 4 to 6 percent chance of producing a false positive — a percent chance similar to lab tests, which can take days rather than just 15 minutes. If a 100 percent detection rate after 15 minutes of waiting doesn’t sound easy enough, the mChip also requires no user interpretation of the results, whereas a regular lab test would.
The Columbia University researchers are moving forward with their mChip, so hopefully this kind of product will be widely available soon.
Published: Aug 4, 2011 10:15 am