Medical diagnosis/Lab-on-a-chip

Biochips to diagnose diseases in tissue or blood samples may largely replace test-tubes. The entire lab can be conducted on the chip, called lab-on-a-chip, rather than add external tubing to detecting or measuring devices.

Researchers are developing a way to test glucose levels of saliva, as a way of replacing blood tests to measure glucose.

Diagnoses can be made more quickly and more accurately with biochips. Cancers can be detected through biochips before symptoms occur.

Learning Task
thumb|International Space Station - Medical Experiments - Lab-on-a-Chip
 * Explore the benefits and challenges of a Lab-on-a-chip application?
 * On the International Space Station Lab-on-a-chip experiments can be performed. It is small group of astronauts that maintain a huge number of experiments in a limited time span and under resource constrainted conditions. Compare the Lab-on-a-chip application in a terrestial and outer space environment!
 * Compare Lab-on-a-chip application in medical environment with Lab-on-a-chip application e.g. environmental sciences!