Fast, sensitive blood tests for use at home

Fast, sensitive blood tests for use at home

 Prototype of blood testing device

Blood tests are required for many diagnoses in the world. So there is need for the blood tests to be done in an easy, portable and fast way that can be done at home. Alexander Tanno, along with his doctoral student Yves Blickenstorfer is working on the idea to bring the idea to market.

The prototype in the hand of Alexander Tanno is not so impressive in looking and it is a two square centimeters in measurements. It is a clear plastic block having three electrodes. A sample is enclosed by a paper strip but this inconspicuous device can do a lot beyond our today thinking. This device can turn a qualitative blood test into quantitative one. This make possible to make blood tests at home or wherever we are.

Alexander Tanno says that today about more than one third of all medical diagnoses require a blood test and these blood tests are carried out by bulky devices which  are only available at hospitals or other surgical places. Blood tests indicate patient’s condition in different diseases such as a heart patient’s blood sugar level can indicate the upcoming heart attack and patient can be saved. Similarly many other diseases can be ruled out by measuring various molecules in blood by blood tests.

Alexander Tanno’s goal is to develop a whole range of blood test kits that would provide same test results but these are portable, small and easy to use so that patients can carry out with them and can do their blood testsat any place and anytime.

These devices basically contain nano particles of gold which bond with blood and make the blood particles visible. It requires more quantity of blood as less quantity of blood can not make the gold particles visible and test will be useless.

To fix this problem Alexander Tanno found that if we dissolve the bonded gold particles then these particles can be measured more precisely. This reaction produces an electric current and the voltage and strength of this current predicts the concentration of target molecules in the sample. This whole technology is contained in a prototype block that is small and transparent. But the mystery that what exact molecules are being used in the prototype cannot be opened until Alexander Tanno unbox it after completing the underway patenting procedure.

Alexander Tanno is a biomedical engineer and he has wrote his doctoral thesis at ETH Zurich. This thesis laid the foundation for this development and secured him a Pioneer Fellowship. 

Better and more tailored treatment

Alexander Tanno gave a business presentation and in it he explained the common blood tests to be done at home. He told that the patients who are suffering from different diseases such as Crohn’s disease or arthritis, they need a blood test that predicts the amount of inflammatory factors. These blood tests are costly and the patients have to go to hospital to conduct these blood tests. But with the help of these prototypes the doctors can easily monitor the progression in the diseases and can determine whether the treatment is working or not. Such small and handy blood tests can help to monitor the quantity of blood levels in easier and cheaper way to screen more patients.

Alexander Tanno is working along with a collaborator who will complete his doctoral thesis soon at ETH. It is not decided by these two that how will they bring these blood tests in the market. They may connect these blood tests  with a mobile phone to be used at home easily. 

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