一種一次性微小液體芯片能夠在活動實驗室中使用，分析血液標本并通過移動電話將結(jié)果傳輸給醫(yī)生。

這種芯片能夠檢測特異性生物指標的質(zhì)量，例如血液中的C反應(yīng)蛋白（CRP）或者肌鈣蛋白I。一種微型泵，基于石蠟膨脹，由移動電話電池供電，推動樣本通過通道、濾膜以及芯片的反應(yīng)槽。一架相機然后讀出芯片釋放的光信號作為檢測結(jié)果。這個過程是基于化學(xué)發(fā)光法，相同的化學(xué)反應(yīng)使的火螢發(fā)光。在幾分鐘之后，這些結(jié)果就可以通過移動電話或者網(wǎng)絡(luò)傳輸給醫(yī)生。這種微型實驗室唯一所需要添加的設(shè)備是配備數(shù)碼相機的移動電話。

這種移動實驗室是由Uppsala大學(xué)、Malardalens大學(xué)學(xué)院、和Uppsala大學(xué)醫(yī)院的研究人員開發(fā)成功的。他們力圖進一步提高芯片的功能，從而允許在幾個平行血液分析儀中進行。

Uppsala Bio-X (www.uppsalabio.com)公司項目經(jīng)理Jonas Astrom說：“最終定型的芯片對所有已經(jīng)生產(chǎn)出抗體的生物學(xué)指標都有效。”這項交叉學(xué)科的研究項目是根據(jù)Uppsala大學(xué)和瑞典農(nóng)業(yè)科技大學(xué)建立的劃時代的科學(xué)技術(shù)而建立的。

Sending Diagnostic Results by Phone
 
A disposable microfluidic chip can serve as a kind of portable laboratory, analyzing blood samples and sending them via a mobile phone to a doctor.

The chip measures quantities of specific biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) or troponin I in a blood sample. A micro pump, based on paraffin expansion and powered by the mobile phone battery, pushes the sample through channels, filters, and the reaction chamber on the chip. A camera then reads the test results as light signals off the chip. This process is based on bioluminescence, the same chemical reaction that makes fireflies glow. After only a few minutes, the results can be sent to a doctor over a mobile phone network or the Internet. The only additional equipment the micro laboratory needs is a mobile phone with a digital camera.

This portable lab was developed by researchers from Uppsala University, Malardalens University College, and the University Hospital in Uppsala (Sweden). They aim to enhance the chip’s functionalities even further in order to allow the conduction of several parallel blood analyses.

“The finalized chip has the potential to respond to any biomarker for which there is an existing antibody,” noted Jonas Astrom, project manager for Uppsala Bio-X (www.uppsalabio.com), a cross-disciplinary research program based on cutting-edge science founded by Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science.