Engineers at the Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute in University Park have developed a reusable device to make biomedical diagnosis of diseases cheaper and more convenient.
The device — called an acoustic tweezer — sorts and manipulates cells and other micro/nano meter scale objects to help diagnose diseases. By making that process cheaper and more convenient, the device may come in handy in regions where medical facilities are sparse or cost is prohibitive.
"We believe our acoustic tweezers have tremendous potential, especially in diagnostics, with some applications also in therapeutics," said Tony Jun Huang, PhD, the Penn State professor who lead the engineer team.
According to Dr. Huang, the disposable plastic portion of the device can be manufactured for as little as 25 cents per unit and can be used to diagnose diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis in resource-poor regions of the world.
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