We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App





Diagnostic Microchip Inserted Under Skin Can Detect COVID-19

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 14 Apr 2021
Print article
Image: Diagnostic Microchip Inserted Under Skin Can Detect COVID-19 (Photo courtesy of DARPA)
Image: Diagnostic Microchip Inserted Under Skin Can Detect COVID-19 (Photo courtesy of DARPA)
Researchers have created a microchip that can detect COVID-19 when inserted under the skin.

The implantable microchip developed by medical researchers at the US Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA; Arlington, VA, USA) can monitor the human body for signs of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Details of the revolutionary technology were shared on the 60 Minutes Show by Matthew Hepburn, an infectious disease physician and retired Army colonel who is heading DARPA’s response to the pandemic.

Hepburn told CBS that the microchip, embedded in a tissue-like gel, would continuously test the chip recipient’s blood for presence of the coronavirus. Upon detecting COVID-19, the chip would alert the patient to conduct a self-administered rapid blood test to confirm the positive result. According to Hepburn, DARPA had also developed a filter to remove the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the blood through a dialysis machine. The filter had been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and had already been used on 300 patients. Additionally, Hepburn compared the diagnostic microchip to a car’s “Check engine” alert and assured that DARPA’s chip would neither “track your every move” nor be administered via vaccines.

“It’s a sensor,” Hepburn told CBS. “That tiny green thing in there, you put it underneath your skin and what that tells you is that there are chemical reactions going on inside the body and that signal means you are going to have symptoms tomorrow. We can have that information in three to five minutes. As you truncate that time, as you diagnose and treat, what you do is you stop the infection in its tracks.”

Related Links:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
Specimen Collection & Transport
POCT Fluorescent Immunoassay Analyzer
FIA Go
Gold Member
SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay
Reliance SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay Kit

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The study showed the blood-based cancer screening test detects 83% of people with colorectal cancer with specificity of 90% (Photo courtesy of Guardant Health)

Blood Test Shows 83% Accuracy for Detecting Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths among adults in the U.S., with forecasts suggesting 53,010 people might die from it in 2024. While fewer older adults are dying from this... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The Gazelle Hb Variant Test (Photo courtesy of Hemex Health)

First Affordable and Rapid Test for Beta Thalassemia Demonstrates 99% Diagnostic Accuracy

Hemoglobin disorders rank as some of the most prevalent monogenic diseases globally. Among various hemoglobin disorders, beta thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder, affects about 1.5% of the world's... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The new platform is designed to perform blood-based diagnoses of nontuberculosis mycobacteria (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Blood Test Cuts Diagnosis Time for Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infections from Months to Hours

Breathing in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a common experience for many people. These bacteria are present in water systems, soil, and dust all over the world and usually don't cause any problems.... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: These new assays are being developed for use on the recently introduced DxI 9000 Immunoassay Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Beckman Coulter)

Beckman Coulter and Fujirebio Expand Partnership on Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnostics

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics (Brea, CA, USA) and Fujirebio Diagnostics (Tokyo, Japan) have expanded their partnership focused on the development, manufacturing and clinical adoption of neurodegenerative... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.