Researchers finds new way to accelerate blood test analysis by 98%
The blood test is completed in just 30 seconds, thus shortening the process by about 98% and reducing its cost by a similar rate.
By SARAH CHEMLABlood Test(photo credit: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ALDEN CHADWICK)
Researchers at the Technion developed a new method for rapid and inexpensive analysis of the chemical composition of blood samples, which may accelerate the early diagnosis of disease.The first application to be tested will be the early detection of various cancerous tumors based on blood tests, a release explained. The innovative technology, which was published in the peer-reviewed Nature Communications, was developed by Professor Tomer Shlomi - a faculty member in the Faculties of Computer Science and Biology and a member of the Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering - and doctoral students Shoval Lagziel and Boris Sarvin.This new method consists of a unique combination of both mass spectrometry - a common device used to determine the concentrations of molecules in biological samples, which prior requires a process called chromatography involving the separation of the materials in the sample according to chemical properties - and innovative computation that can identify the optimal working configuration in the mass spectrometer.The computational analysis also corrects the measured raw information and accurately quantifies concentrations of thousands of molecules in blood samples.In the current study, Prof. Shlomi's research group presents a method that skips the chromatography step and makes it possible to directly use mass spectrometry without significantly damaging the quality of the analysis.The test is completed in just 30 seconds, thus shortening the process by about 98% and reducing its cost accordingly.
