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General discussion

U of A hails 'FISH and chip' cancer test

by JP Bill Jun 18, 2007 9:58PM PDT

Invention reduces wait from days to hours

EDMONTON - The University of Alberta has created a miniature lab-on-a-chip that will allow doctors to quickly figure out which chemotherapy will work best for a cancer patient, tailor treatments to them and monitor for relapses.

The hand-held glass chip, created by the U of A team, can perform an important diagnostic test known as FISH on a handheld device.

FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) allows oncologists to see abnormalities in cancerous bone marrow, blood or tumours.

The test currently can take days, but the lab on a chip reduces the wait to less than 24 hours, at a fraction of the cost.

Not sure if this is "new" or just "new to Canada" but it is good news.

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