'Biochip' Aims To Quicken Disease Diagnosis, Cut Medical Test Costs

Hydra-1K will make it easier to recommend drugs for a disease

A new "biochip" under development to accurately identify disease strains may reduce costs for medical testing and also reduce wait time for results.  The Hydra-1K -- which is a silicon chip -- can be used at doctor's offices or points of care, where a disease can be instantly analyzed to determine treatment, said Arjang Hassibi, founder and CEO of startup InSilixa, during a presentation at the Hot Chips conference in Cupertino, California.

The chip -- which Hassibi also called a reader -- heats up a culture or sample, and can identify unique molecular structures like DNA sequences, to help identify possible strains of a disease, which can help determine medication, or whether a patient needs to be isolated.  Right now the chip can test cultures or samples only for specific diseases and mutations.

The tool has sensors, I/O ports and a fluidic cap through which the sample is sent on the chip. The chip is then heated up, and sensors then assess the sample to identify specific DNA sequences. The chip is then disposed after one use...