Professor pursues commercialization of lab-on-a-chip for home use
Lab-on-a-chip technology holds promise for a variety of diagnostics applications.
A proponent of the technology is Chris Toumazou, Regius Professor of Engineering at Imperial College London. As described in a profile on CNN, he has thus far developed microchips for cochlear implants for children born deaf and artificial pancreases that regulate insulin secretion in diabetics.
He was also behind the development of the SensiumVitals system, which wireless single-use patch with a five-day battery life, to monitor heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature every two minutes.
Toumazou is now at work on commercializing a lab-on-a-chip genome sequencing device. It can perform a DNA test on saliva in under 30 minutes for as little as $20. It can indicate a predisposition for type two diabetes, for example, or cardiovascular disease, depending on how the chip has been prepared. The chip can be plugged into a laptop’s USB port to analyze test results; consequently, the test can be administered in a doctor’s office or even in the patient’s home.
That’s important, Toumazou said, not only for cost and time issues but for security as well. Most DNA tests require a sample to be sent to a remote lab, which may share results with third parties. CNN quotes him as saying, “I love big data from the point of view of say population databases. But if you’ve just got databases of everyone’s predispositions, that could go anywhere. It’s my DNA, so it’s my choice.”
Toumazou is involved in other projects as well. In 2014 he teamed up with Nick Rhodes of the 1980s pop band Duran Duran to found a company, GeneU, that creates bespoke skin-care products based on a customer’s genetic profile. Also in the works is a venture to provide detailed recommendations about food and lifestyle products based on analysis of a consumer’s DNA.
Visit CNN to see a brief video and read the complete profile, which describes Toumazou’s circuitous path to becoming head of Imperial College London’s Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology.
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