Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Theranos

Theranos

Also: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/11/wired-data-life-theranos/

"Recently, diagnostics company Theranos opened its first “wellness center” in a Walgreens drug store a few miles away from its Palo Alto, California headquarters to help make this happen. For the last 10 years, the company has been developing new chemistry and technologies that could make it possible to do the same clinical laboratory tests as services like Quest Diagnostics, but much more quickly, cheaply and with about one thousandth the volume of blood that’s normally taken from patients. The small volume, paired with a fast turnaround time, is the key.

Because the technique requires such tiny volumes, patients can give blood samples more often, which could help doctors track patients’ health better in a closer to real-time fashion.

Getting your blood drawn by Theranos doesn’t require needles, large vials, or tubing. A phlebotomist pricks your finger with a needle that feeds a tiny volume of blood into a 0.5-inch long “nanotainer.” That teensy vial is then placed in a box until your “microsample” is processed. The results from testing are beamed back to the patient and her doctor over the internet in just a few hours."

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