Automated System Will Permit Rapid Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases

A high-throughput, automated system for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases is being developed.

Microfluidic chip technology will be used in disposable testing cartridges containing human blood samples. The system will identify bacterial pathogens in human blood using genetic matching technology and it is expected to reduce the time required to test a sample to one hour from the several days currently needed with existing technology.

Canon US Life Sciences (Rockville, MD, USA) will collaborate with the University of Maryland (College Park, MD, USA) to speed up test results while simplifying the test process, thereby allowing a range of clinical staff to perform automated disease diagnosis. Canon's genetic analysis system will be used.

"Through our continued research in the area of molecular diagnostics, we are excited to be aligning our efforts with the University of Maryland," said Takayoshi Hanagata, president, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc. "The combination of Canon US Life Sciences core technologies and the University's leading-edge research capabilities, will allow us to create new diagnostic applications designed to offer enhanced flexibility as well as reduced costs and biomedical waste."

Canon US Life Sciences, Inc., is a subsidiary of Canon USA, Inc., dedicated to exploring potential applications of Canon's core technologies to the field of life sciences. Canon US Life Sciences identifies and commercially develops life sciences solutions with potential applications in diagnostics and medical instrumentation.

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Canon US Life Sciences
University of Maryland