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Lab-on-a-chip test could help prevent disease outbreaks in remote regions: Study
TORONTO — Canadian researchers have created a low-cost, portable device that can quickly test people to determine if they’re at risk for measles or rubella in parts of the world without access to standard laboratories, with the ultimate goal of preventing outbreaks of the deadly or disabling infectious diseases.
The MR Box, so called by its University of Toronto designers for measles and rubella, allows for on-the-spot assessment of a person’s vulnerability to these vaccine-preventable diseases, which remain a major scourge in developing countries worldwide.
Each year, measles causes an estimated 134,000 deaths and rubella leaves about 100,000 children with birth defects such as deafness.
At the heart of the shoebox-sized device is an inkjet-printed cartridge that uses the science of microfluidics to detect whether a child or adult has antibodies to measles or rubella in a pin-prick drop of their blood, indicating whether they have been exposed to either of the viruses through previous infection or vaccination.