A new device revolutionizes lab analysis and performs faster and works more efficiently than a traditional laboratory. The core of the system is a disc with the diameter of a CD. Researchers in South Germany have invented this mini-lab within the European research project ASCMicroPlat.
Within the disc are very fine micro channels running outwards in a kind of star shape. By spinning the disc, centrifugal forces push a liquid — such as a blood serum sample — through the micro channels. Liquids behave totally different in this micro world than in the real world, enabling the identification of what’s in the liquid.
If a doctor has only the slightest suspicion an infant might be suffering from sepsis, they will always get broad spectrum antibiotics immediately. But with ASCMicroPlat they will quickly know if it really is sepsis. After all, sepsis can kill within hours, so even with this very fast method there is no time to waste. And, if sepsis has been detected, they will know what kind of pathogen they are dealing with.