Researchers at MIT's Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices. These "plug-and-play" devices, which require little expertise to assemble, can test blood glucose levels in diabetic patients or detect viral infection, among other functions.

"Our long-term motivation is to enable small, low-resources laboratories to generate their own libraries of plug-and-play diagnostics to treat their local patient populations independently," says Anna Young, co-director of MIT's Little Devices Lab, lecturer at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.

Using this system, called Ampli blocks, the MIT team is working on devices to detect cancer, as well as Zika virus and other infectious diseases. The blocks are inexpensive, costing about 6 cents for four blocks, and they do not require refrigeration or special handling, making them appealing for use in the developing world.

"We see these construction kits as a way of lowering the barriers to making medical technology," says Jose Gomez-Marquez, co-director of the Little Devices Lab.

Source 


Topics:
Medical