Philips research targets instant blood tests

By Niclas Mika

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) – Two research projects by
Philips Electronics aim to make testing of blood samples for
diseases instantaneous, to allow earlier and more effective
treatment, researchers said on Tuesday.

At an innovation fair in the Dutch city of Eindhoven,
Philips presented a prototype biosensor that the company hopes
can eventually be built into a handheld device for doctors to
perform standard blood tests on the spot.

“It is all about early diagnostics,” said Philips scientist
Wendy Dittmer, adding that researchers envisage a device that
would have replaceable cartridges to test for various diseases.

Doctors would put a drop of blood on the sensor and
immediately get a positive or negative response, avoiding the
need to send off blood samples to a laboratory with the results
coming back only days later.

Dittmer said the finished product, still three to five
years of development work away, could allow testing for certain
bacteria or viruses or for proteins that indicate a high risk
of a heart attack.

Philips has identified medical equipment as its new growth
engine as it generates more reliable profits than the volatile
chip and consumer electronics activities.

LASER LIGHT TO DETECT MALARIA

A second research project is targeted at the developing
world, with the specific aim to diagnose malaria more reliably.

The mosquito-borne disease strikes up to 500 million people
a year, killing between 2 million and 3 million, 90 percent of
them in sub-Saharan Africa.

It kills an African child every 30 seconds and strikes many
pregnant women, according to the United Nations Organization,
whose goal is to halve the disease’s toll by 2010.

Malaria is hard to diagnose from symptoms alone and the
best tools now available in areas with few laboratories are
biochemical test strips similar to pregnancy tests.

But heat and humidity can damage these strips, said Philips
researcher Markus Laubscher, whose project involves optical
detection.

The method is to aim laser light at a drop of blood and
look for a specific light pattern emitted by malaria pigment in
response.

Laubscher foresees a handheld device that would analyze
blood and give a result within minutes. If the research goes
well, this could be only two or three years away, he said.

While Laubscher hopes his research will lead to a faster
and more reliable diagnosis of malaria, this is only the first
step.

There is a shortage of available funds for resources to
treat the disease.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a
conduit for rich nations’ aid to combat the three diseases, has
said it would cost $3 billion a year to control malaria, but
that it only had $1.2 billion to spend over two years.

Both of the Philips research projects receive public
funding, from the Dutch economy ministry and the European
Commission, respectively.