Jed Harrison, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is shrinking his laboratory down to the size of a shoe box. Well, not the laboratory itself. But his research group is creating a miniaturized version of a medical diagnostic laboratory.
Electrophoresis then separates out the components of the mixture.
Finally, a laser is used to detect just how much of a particular material is present. This kind of testing that is, finding out what materials are present and in what amounts is the key to diagnosing many diseases and selecting the right kinds of treatments. But the testing can take precious time, and results are subject to mix-ups when blood or tissue samples are sent to a central laboratory for analysis. The mini-lab is not that small yet, partly because the laser it needs is too big to fit. Harrison hopes that another laser such as the one now being used in CD players can be tailored for use in the mini-lab.