Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a programming language to work in conjunction with 'laboratory-on-a-chip' technology, automating the testing processes and containing the potential to improve healthcare delivery while reducing costs.
The 'laboratory-on-a-chip' technology hosts biochemical reactions on a computer chip as small as a couple millimeters wide. Such chips are currently used for DNA sequencing, virus detection and other similar functions, according to a UC Riverside news release.
The new programming language will allow information from these chips to be sent directly to a computer, reducing both wait times and the risk of misinterpretation.
"We are really trying to eliminate as much human interaction as possible," Philip Brisk, PhD, an assistant professor of engineering at UC Riverside, said in the news release. "Now, you have a chip, you use it and then you analyze it. Through automation and programmability, you eliminate human error, cuts costs and speed up the entire process."
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