‘Ello, PaulTech faithful. Sorry I’ve been gone as of late. A nasty head-cold has been taking up space in my schedule; quite a bit of space, actually. In honor of this annoyance (I still am stuffed up in the head…), I’ve decided to do a write-up on some medical technology that will make it easier to find and filter out viruses and pathogens. The solution involves antibodies, an extremely powerful sensor, and a laser. While I’m sure MacGyver would have figured it out in no time, thank the researchers at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, for this fix.
The detection processes in place right now are not exactally the most expedient of methods, as they take several days to get results. As infectious as some viruses can get, often it’s too late to stop the spread of any specific pathogen once the results are back. This laser can give results in a few minutes, and with the proper equipment, nothing will have to leave the hospital, including a potentially sick patient.
The sensor works by shooting a laser (BERRROOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!) through a silicon substrate, which splits the light into four parallel channels which then pass through a cylindrical lens. The lens spreads the beam out, creating patterns of light which overlay with each other and create an “interference” pattern. Researchers detect a virus by sending the body fluid sample along one of the channels, upon which antibodies (placed in one of the channels) bind to the viruses and change the interference pattern. The bigger the change, the higher the concentration of virus.
Right now they’ve only tested the laser out on the herpes simplex virus, and the results ha9ve been promising. Currently, the scientists at the University are working with Paradocs Group BV of Tiel, the Netherlands, to create a commercial prototype. At the present time, no estimate of completion is available. Hopefully, these guys will hurry it up so the ‘docs’ can find out what ails me.
Picture courtesy of: Technology Review
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