Gates Package — page 947

7 Biosearch and its ultra-high-throughput processing--basically, using robotic machines to exponentially increase the number of PCR tests that can be processed in a given time. The fastest one I'm aware of is called Nexar, developed by Douglas Scientific. You put hundreds of samples on a long piece of tape--picture something like a filmstrip--and feed the tape into a machine that bathes the samples in a tiny pool of reagents called a water bath thermocycler [CHECK THIS]. After a couple of hours, you run the tape through a second machine, which quickly scans all the samples and flags the ones that are positive. <~?~Insert art 016_Gate_9780593534489_fpo_r1> Here's a picture of what the Nexar machine looks like. Amazingly, the Nexar system can process more than 150,000 tests per day, which is about ten times what the largest high-throughput processors can do today.7 Biosearch and its partners are planning several pilot projects to see how Nexar machines can work in elementary schools and international airports. Other companies are working on different approaches, and I hope they all keep competing to make cheaper, faster, and more accurate tests. This is an area where the world still needs a lot of innovation. Bottom line: We need to be able to design a new test very quickly that can be used in many different settings, including clinics, homes, and workplaces. Once that test is designed, we need to be able to make millions at ultra-low cost (perhaps less than a dollar per test). And many academic and private sector groups need to know how it will be manufactured so that they can get their tests scaled up in a few days. ***