Blood test offers faster results

Waiting days for blood test results could be a thing of the past, thanks to a device developed by an international team of engineers. it uses sound waves to separate exosomes from blood.

these nanoparticles are released from every cell in the body and are thought to play a large role in the transmission of disease.

the theory is that they could be a better tool for diagnosis. the current way of collecting them (spinning samples in a centrifuge for hours, even days) can damage the exosomes and retrieves just a small fraction of them.

the Proceedings of the national academy of Sciences reports that the new device isolated more than 80 per cent of the exosomes successfully and within 25 minutes.