Originally Published EMDM January/February 2003
IVD PRODUCTS
Described as a first, a prototype silicon lab-on-a-chip performs both DNA amplification and detection. According to STMicroelectronics GmbH (Grasbrunn, Germany), which presented the technology at Electronica, it is the first time that a single-chip device has combined these two functions. The primary application is point-of-care medical diagnostics.
Fabricated using microelectromechanical systems technology, the device can be customized for a variety of detection applications, says business development manager Jürgen Richter. The product is now functional, he adds, and the company is seeking partners in the biomedical arena to jointly develop MEMS-based devices. "The cost point is very attractive, between $50 and $100," Richter notes. "And the entire system, suited for a doctor's office, would run somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000."
Currently, analysis is performed under a microscope, but STMicroelectronics hopes to automate the process in the next couple of years by integrating camera sensors.
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