Research & Development
The Chemical Angel Network: A New Breed of Angel Network
  Post by guest-blogger Mark Vreeke, PhD, cofounder of the Chemical Angel Network, which partners chemistry-related entrepreneurs with interested investors. Vreeke is also on IVD Technology's editorial board. Angel investing provides much of the seed and early stage capital for new technology Mark Vreeke, cofounder, Chemical Angel Network companies. An angel investment is typically seen as the capital round that bridges the funding gap between a friends-and-family round and...
Cancer Diagnostic Redesigned to Detect 13 Bacterial Pathogens
  Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital have repurposed an in-vitro cancer diagnostic for use in detecting infectious diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia and MRSA. Results of the finds were published in the journals Nature Nanotechnology and Nature Communications. The researchers redesigned a cancer diagnostic that used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and microfluidic technology to detect cancer biomarkers in a patient’s blood or tissue samples. For the cancer...
Schizophrenia Diagnostic Makes Progress
In the future, diagnosing schizophrenia may be as simple as a nasal biopsy. Researchers at John Hopkins University and Tel Aviv University have developed a novel technique for harvesting olfactory neurons through a patient’s nose for use in an in-vitro schizophrenia diagnostic. Researchers detailed their findings in the journal Neurobiology of Disease. While this diagnostic is still undergoing early clinical tests, it could help physicians diagnose schizophrenia while a patient is...
Lumora Enters Collaboration to Develop Malaria Assay
Lumora (Cambridge, United Kingdom) announced that it will take part in a joint venture with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. According to a press release by the company, the new joint venture will work to develop an effective assay for malaria. Every year, malaria impacts the lives of millions of people around the globe. Because of this, many diagnostics companies are in a race to develop affordable and effective tests for tropical diseases. While Lumora has not announced...
Researchers Create Cytometer from Smartphone
Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles have discovered a way to turn a smartphone camera into a diagnostic medical device. According to engineers at the Los Angeles-based university, the device can be used to monitor HIV-positive patients and contaminated water. Results of the research study were published in The Journal of Visualized Experiments. In the study, researchers fit a specialized device to a phone’s camera. This allows the phone to function as a flow...
DVD Players Gain Second Life as HIV Diagnostic Tool
While online streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are turning DVDs into a thing of the past, researchers have discovered that some technologies used in DVD players could be used for diagnosing illness. According to a Swedish research team at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, a standard DVD player can be transformed into a laser-scanning microscope. The results were published in Nature Photonics, a peer-reviewed journal. Results were also published in BioOptics World. Armed...
New Swiss Study Shows Promise for Breath Diagnostics
Over the past few years, healthcare researchers have been working on breath diagnostics for patients suffering from heart failure and some cancers. According to a new study published in the online journal PLoS ONE, breath diagnostics could also be useful for signaling the presence of respiratory diseases and other health issues. According to the Australian, a Sydney-based newspaper, researchers from Switzerland analyzed the breath signatures of 11 young adults over a period of 11 days. Each day...
Researchers Develop New Ebola Diagnostic
According to new research published in the journal PLoS ONE, scientists working at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute have discovered a new, sensitive test for detecting Ebola. Researchers discovered this new diagnostic while screening a library of approximately one million live Ebola viruses. Andrew Hayhurst, a Texas biologist, stated that it could be difficult to detect single viral protein components. While these components are often found at very low levels in the body, almost all...
New Diagnostic for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors
According to a study by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a new blood test may be able to reveal more genetic mutations in digestive tract cancer than traditional biopsy techniques. Results from the study were shared at a symposium during the annual American Association for Cancer Research conference. According to the study, researchers used advanced amplification technology to look for abnormal DNA passing through a patient’s cardiovascular system. In particular, the test...
Researchers Create "Liquid Biopsy" Prostate Cancer Diagnostic
Researchers at the University of California and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have developed a new type of diagnostic technology that could be used for customized prostate treatments. Details on the technology were released in the journal Advanced Materials. The research team also collaborated with scientists and clinicians in China to develop the new diagnostic.   The new technology, dubbed the NanoVelcro Chip, promises to change the nature of biopsies. Instead of taking a biopsy from a...