New Chip Tests For HIV, Only Costs A Buck

Third world stands to benefit greatly.

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Researchers at Columbia have developed a new, inexpensive chip that can test for STDs without the need for doctoral intervention. The device, called the mChip, is roughly the size of a credit card and can analyze one drop of blood on its microfluidics-based optical chip. 

Most encouraging, the mChip works quickly and costs very little: test results for HIV or Syphilis are delivered in 15 minutes, rather than the weeks it can take to get results after a visit to the doctor, and the device only costs $1, meaning it has great potential to help in AIDS-ravaged, impoverished communities across the globe.

Researchers at Columbia say the device has a 100 percent detection rate, though as is the case with traditional tests, there is a slight (four to six percent) chance of getting a false positive. 

[via Engadget]

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