Lab-on-a-Chip Diagnostics: When Will Clinical Laboratories See the Revolution?
Offering lower costs and quicker returns than much of the traditional lab equipment in use today, lab-on-a-chip devices are again in a position to revolutionize pathology and medical laboratory work
For nearly 20 years, researchers have heralded microfluidic devices, paper-based diagnostics, and other lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies, as ways for medical laboratory scientists, pathologists, and other medical diagnostic professionals to reduce the time and costs of clinical laboratory services. With the promise of obtaining results in just minutes without the need for extensive training, these point-of-care tests and devices create big buzz with each new design.
An yet, after all that progress, most laboratories still depend on their spectrometers, flow cytometers, blood analyzers, and other equipment for the bulk of their testing and routines.
That leaves one major question for clinical laboratory professionals and chip developers alike—when is the revolution? (more…)
