The DNA Electronics and researchers with imperial college has created a new USB stick that can detect HIV in blood. Just the way you detect sugar level, the new HIV USB stick involves placing a drop of blood on a sensor. The USB stick is then connected to a computing devices e.g laptop, desktop where results will be determined and presented.

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The USB stick is made using a ‘phone chip', which experiences an electrical signal caused by a change in acidity, which is itself caused by the HIV virus.

Gone are the days, when traditional technology in monitoring the viral level in a patient takes about three days or more and somewhat stressful. In Remote location for example, where the blood sample must be sent to a laboratory which may be far away.

"However, monitoring viral load is crucial to the success of HIV treatment. At the moment, testing often requires costly and complex equipment that can take a couple of days to produce a result. We have taken the job done by this equipment, which is the size of a large photocopier, and shrunk it down to a USB chip."

These newly developed HIV USB stick test, will take away all these problems, you don't need to depend on a laboratory middle-man and you don't need to wait for long time before you can see your result. With the new USB stick, results are presented in less than 30 minutes, with 95 per cent accuracy.

The new HIV USB stick holds a great promise for some region in Africa where instances of HIV are high. Who knows, the USB stick may be able to detect other virus as well in the future.

Source: http://www.techpill.net/2016/11/these-newly-developed-usb-stick-test-is.html

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