Lengthy waits for blood tests and painful stabs in the arm could be history thanks to emerging technology that aims to allow doctors to test a pinprick of blood during a consultation.
Wellington-based medical diagnostics startup company AuramerBio is developing a handheld device that could eliminate the need for laboratories for do the tests.
The dream is to create a device that could fit in the palm of a doctor's hand, or in a nurse's pocket, essentially giving them a portable blood-testing lab.
So detecting cancer indicators, hormone imbalances, and conditions such as appendicitis and anaemia could all be done during a doctor's appointment, AuramerBio chief executive Jeremy Jones said.
"We're targeting an instant timeframe. It has to be around 20 minutes because that's the average length of a patient consultation," Jones said.
Currently many diagnostic tests rely on antibodies, which are used to detect a targeted molecule. A pregnancy test, for example, detects pregnancy when an antibody indicator binds to a particular protein found in urine.
The technology being developed by AuramerBio uses aptamers rather than antibodies.
Aptamers can be descirbed as synthetic antibodies – single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that can bind to specific target molecules. They can bind to molecules much smaller than proteins typically targeted by antibodies.
It's early days, but Jones said the company wanted to take a prototype to possible investors next year.
"That relies on getting attention of big diagnostics companies which would be able to put in place all the channels to get this to market.
We're looking at a six-year timeframe. Right now we have a proof of concept device and we nedd to develop that to a more robust prototype."
AuramerBio was launched internationally in April at the Aptamers 2016, a symposium held in Oxford, Britain.
"We were very confident that we had capability that was very special and unique, and better than everything else we had seen out there," Jones said.
"But getting over there and face to face with potential customers and partners, and seeing them go 'wow, what you're doing is incredible' was an amazing confirmation and validation.
WHAT COULD IT TEST FOR?
Anything that a blood test can detect, including:
* hormone imbalances, including oestrogen levels, which is helpful in fertility treatment
* cancer indicaters
* anaemia
* cholesterol levels
* liver function
* thyroid
* inflammatory markers
- Stuff
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