Scientists in Singapore have developed a hand held device capable of detecting bird flu quicker and cheaper than existing technology.
The device is being sold by Roche Holding AG, Veredus Laboratories and Qiagen NV and Applied Biosystems at a cost of 20 - 50 cents as compared to the previous $20 - $50.
Using droplets containing magnetic particles to isolate genetic materials from a throat swab, the device then purifies and replicates the material so that there is enough to analyze and returns results in 28 minutes. The unit is small and weighs about 200 grams.
[Source: Bloomberg]
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