PARC Builds iPod-Sized HIV Detector 93
MikeChino writes "Right now it's difficult, if not impossible, to quickly detect HIV in patients living in impoverished countries. That may all change soon, though — researchers at a California outfit called the Palo Alto Research Center have built an iPod-sized handheld device that can provide an immune check-up in under 10 minutes — all with a prick of the finger. With millions of people around the world without access to a full-size laboratory, PARC's device could revolutionize the detection and treatment of HIV."
This is great news (Score:5, Insightful)
iPod-sized? (Score:4, Insightful)
How about some real measurement, like a pack of cards or fractions of a VW Beetle?
Hopefully with proper sterilization procedures (Score:1, Insightful)
Don't want to pick up HIV from the last person that got their finger pricked.
am I the only one... (Score:3, Insightful)
... who finds it funny that this portable HIV detection device uses a lance?
"Sir, first the good news: you were not HIV positive. Now, the bad: you are now."
I'm sure the lances would be disposable and all, but still.
Re:If the price is low and reliability is high... (Score:3, Insightful)
Can you imagine what this would do for the STD worries of people involved in "One Night Stands"?
Won't help very much. You can't tell if you've got an STD a few hours after having sex.
I think the OP was more like "Look at me .. I'm STD free, you're STD free so lets fuck!"
However STD's such as HSV2 are hard to detect at the best of times, so I doubt it would a 100% guarantee
Re:Soooo... (Score:3, Insightful)
No:
One prick to catch it, one prick to test for it.
Of course, this could have all been avoided if people didn't have sex Soviet Russia - style:
"In Soviet Russia, prick probes YOU!"
It doesn't matter whether you're straight or gay - Chlamydia, herpes, aids ... they don't discriminate. Use a condom!
Portable is not important, cheap is (Score:3, Insightful)
Portable tests are not necessarily what is necessary to make infectious disease detection accessible to the 3rd-world. The main factor is cost, and that is usually addressed with speed and volume. Ex: A molecular diagnostic device could run a 96-well plate of patient samples in about an hour. That's 96 patients per hour as compared with... 6 patients per hour with this device. Now, depending on what this thing costs it might make-up for it, but I highly doubt it.
Re:that's crap (Score:4, Insightful)
did you know right now in the USA liver failure is the leading cause of AIDS death?
Even if that were true, it could easily be astounding evidence of the effectiveness [wikipedia.org] of the AIDS drug cocktail.
(i.e. The patients are living long enough to die to something such as liver failure rather than immunodeficiency-related conditions)