This USB Stick Can Detect And Read HIV (AIDS) Levels in Minutes
Technology has just reached its
peak, as researchers have created a disposable HIV test that offers a
result in minutes.
The inexpensive USB stick test
requires a single drop of blood to identify the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), which can be used at home.
Though there is currently no cure
for HIV, medicine has come a long way since its initial diagnosis in 1981
and most cases no longer lead on to full-on AIDS.
The treatment for HIV consists of
a cocktail of drugs, which keep the virus from multiplying and evolving. It is
important that sufferers monitor the spread of the virus in their bodies and
this cheap and easy USB test will help to revolutionize how doctors monitor the
disease, giving the patient the freedom to test themselves from the comfort of
their own home.
It is also a cheaper solution than
hiring doctors and nurses to conduct the tests, which will be extremely
beneficial to poor countries that lack doctors, technology and funds.
Users prick their fingers to
release a small drop of blood onto a chip installed on the USB
stick. If the viral load in the blood is substantial, the blood will cause
a change in the chip’s acidity, which the chip then transforms into an electrical
signal. The results can then be read on a computer screen.
The chip has been tried out on 991
blood samples taken from people who have HIV and so far the results have been
promising, with an 88.8% result accuracy.
Researchers at Imperial College
London will continue to develop the tool, with hopes that it will one day be
used to test for other diseases, including hepatitis.
Source: Firsttoknow.com
This USB Stick Can Detect And Read HIV (AIDS) Levels in Minutes
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