Ma, Hongshen (The University of British Columbia)

Purpose

Point-of-care tests are medical diagnostic tests performed outside of clinical laboratories and in close proximity of patients receiving care, such as at homes, doctor's offices, and emergency departments in hospitals. The ability to perform diagnostic tests without requiring sophisticated laboratory equipment and infrastructure is important for many health conditions including cancer, heart disease, and viral infections. This proposal aims to develop a new technology to perform point-of-care diagnostic tests utilizing methods developed for manufacturing silicon microchips, which can be adapted to enable precise control over the flow of extremely small volumes of liquid. This capability enables sophisticated biochemical analyses to be performed in portable, low-cost, and automated system, which can be utilized by patients and care providers at the point of care.