Clinical laboratory IT solutions promise fast and cheap blood tests

Blood tests may be faster and cheaper with a new generation of lab-on-chip clinical laboratory IT solutions.

Scientists at the University of Rhode Island have developed the compact system for analysing blood samples in less than half an hour.

The process does not need vials of blood to be drawn from the patient; a single pinprick amount is sufficient.

Mohammad Faghri, the professor of mechanical engineering who led the project, explains the peace of mind that such clinical laboratory IT solutions can offer.

"No longer will patients have to wait anxiously for several days for their test results," he says.

"They can have their blood tested when they walk into the doctor's office and the results will be ready before they leave."

Students at the University of Rhode Island study across four campuses across the state, with the main site of the academic institution located in Kingston and others in Providence, Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island's forested western region.