A joint venture between a microelectronics company and a medical diagnostics company has produced the world’s first “lab-on-chip” portable device for detecting various types of flu, including bird flu, at the point of need.
The launch of VereFlu, described as a “breakthrough molecular diagnostic test that can detect infection with high accuracy and sensitivity”, was announced on Monday by its makers, STMicroelectronics of Switzerland and Veredus Laboratories of Singapore. The device was successfully trialled at the National University Hospital of Singapore.
Unlike other existing methods that take days and weeks, the new device can give genetic information about an infection within two hours. It is also portable, freeing the diagnostic process from the lab and allowing it to happen at the point of need.
VereFlu combines the In-Check lab-on-chip platform from STMicroelectronics, and the bio-application capability from Veredus.
The device integrates two powerful molecular biological applications to identify and differentiate, using a single test, human strains of Influenza virus types A and B, and the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu.
This portable “mini-lab” allows the diagnostician to analyze a patient sample like blood, serum and respiratory swabs, on a single disposable thumbnail-sized chip.
As well as the obvious advantages of less cost and time, this method also reduces the risk of sample cross contamination that can occur in the conventional lab setting, said STMicroelectronics in a press statement.
Head of Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital in Singapore, Associate Professor Raymond Lin said:
“We are pleased to report that our evaluation trials show the suitability of the VereFlu diagnostic application for field testing and deployment.”
He called the new device a “powerful weapon against future influenza pandemics”.
Chief Executive Officer of Veredus Laboratories, Dr Rosemary Tan said:
VereFlu will enable healthcare professionals to effectively monitor mutations of flu viruses and quickly identify the main strain of the season.”
This will increase the effectiveness of flu vaccination, she added, which should reduce the public health risks that arise when a new flu strain emerges.
Corporate VP and General Manager of ST’s Computer Peripherals Group, Gian Luca Bertino said:
“The launch of VereFlu marks a substantial breakthrough in enabling rapid identification of the infectious agent to limit the spread of the disease and speed patients’ treatment.”
He said the combination of the diagnostic knowledge from Veredus and ST’s microfluidic lab-on-chip technology has bred the first solution that:
“Detects multiple flu viruses at the point of need in a fraction of the time, cost, and complexity of conventional diagnostic systems.”
An obvious application of the portable minilab is screening at airports and borders.
The success of the new venture has prompted the two companies to set up a joint lab to develop new biomedical applications using the same technology in new areas like other infectious diseases, oncology and markers for heart disease. The new Bio-Application Lab is based at the Science Park in Singapore and will be headed up by Tan.
Source: STMicroelectronics press release.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD