How To Run 30 Health Tests On a Single Drop of Blood

[rug]

Say goodbye to lengthy blood work. A new lab called Theranos says its method is faster, more accurate and much less painful

By Tuan C. Nguyen
smithsonianmag.com
March 6, 2014

A drop of blood can tell you a lot about a person—whether he or she might have heart disease, an STD or diabetes, for instance, or tell-tale signs of certain cancers. But having blood drawn is somewhat of an arcane process, sometimes requiring nurses or phlebotomists to extract vials upon vials of blood. And when those vials are sent to a lab for testing, a lot can go awry. The vials can be misplaced, mishandled or simply misread; moreover, it can take days or even weeks for patients to learn the results.

To Elizabeth Holmes, an entrepreneur with a background in chemical and electrical engineering, waiting a week for such a crucial diagnostic procedure seems unacceptable. The delay could put the patient at serious risks should his or her condition worsen without immediate interventions, such as taking medicines or seeing a specialist.

"The art of phlebotomy originated with bloodletting in 1400 B.C. and the modern clinical lab emerged in the 1960s—and it has not fundamentally evolved since then," Holmes tells the Wall Street Journal.

For a 21st-century society striving for technological efficiency, the arrival of Theranos, a blood test Holmes began developing a decade ago, has the feel of a long-overdue upgrade. Instead of putting a patient through what's known colloquially within the medical community as "blood work," Holmes says all she needs is a micro sample, equal in volume to a raindrop, to sufficiently run as many as 30 tests, the results of which can be available in less than a day.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-to-run-30-health-tests-on-a-single-drop-of-blood-180949983/?no-ist

[In_The_Wind]

1. Kicked and recommended!

[pinboy3niner]

2. If the old way was good enough for Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber...

...it's good enough for me!1!!

[Javaman]

14. Naaaaaaaaaa!

Theodoric of York: [ steps toward the camera ] Wait a minute. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps I've been wrong to blindly folow the medical traditions and superstitions of past centuries. Maybe we barbers should test these assumptions analytically, through experimentation and a "scientific method". Maybe this scientific method could be extended to other fields of learning: the natural sciences, art, architecture, navigation. Perhaps I could lead the way to a new age, an age of rebirth, a Renaissance! [ thinks for a minute ] Naaaaaahhh!

[volstork]

26. BrunGilda!

n/t

[mattvermont]

3. great article and technology. However

go to the company website and see who are the board of directors....

George Shultz
Henry Kissenger
William Perry
Sam Nunn
James Mattis

http://www.theranos.com/our-company

[WhiteTara]

5. hmmm. that isn't good news really.

Especially to see the war criminal's name up there.

[rug]

6. Relax. Sam Nunn's a Democrat. This board seeems rather typical of corporations.

This guy is also on the board.

William J. Perry

William Perry is an entrepreneur, mathematician, and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton.

[WhiteTara]

8. And Kissinger the war criminal is just cashing in.

Okay. I feel better; but if that ole b*st*d is making decisions, they will probably not be in the interest of human kind, but some sinister plot...lol as I don my

[rug]

9. The problem is they all end up in the same class.

I hope this technology proves to be as effective and as affordable as they say it is. It would be hard to jack up the prices after this announcement.

[justhanginon]

20. Oh ye of little faith!

If there is any way to jack up the price you may rest assured they will diligently search to find a way and the pr flacks announcement will work to make it sound oh so reasonable.

[WhiteTara]

4. My beloved gave up aabout 6 vials of blood yesterday

he will be so happy to hear about this. I hope it comes into being soon. Of course the medical community will dig in their heels...job loss and all.

[rug]

7. I also found this to be interesting:

Currently, her company aims to provide its services at half the price of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. For instance, cholesterol and HDL measurements, which normally cost about $30 out of pocket, cost $2.99. Customers can peruse the entire menu of blood tests, which are all be run from the same drop of blood, on Theranos' website. In a health care climate in which the cost of blood tests can vary wildly—illustrated recently through the story of one California woman who paid $4,000 for tests at one lab and $260 for the same tests at a lab down the street—Holmes hopes Theranos' menu can bring some transparency to the process.

[jtuck004]

10. Lab owners, many of whom are doctors and derive income from this, won't be pleased.

They control state boards that might impact whether this could even happen in a state or not.

Like car dealers and Tesla in N.J.

And thank you for finding this

[Skidmore]

24. They may not like it but we can demand it as consumers.

Let's get ACA to work for us by demanding efficiency and best practicesto that are mindful of cost and suffering.

[jtuck004]

25. Heard of NAFTA? That consumer protection bill that was gonna help us all do better? One of the

very interesting things about that, in a country that spends more and gets less from health care than anyplace else in the world, is that while it allowed the dilution of income for ordinary working people, it did nothing to open up the market for doctors and other medical professionals, or impact pharmaceutical companies other than allowing them access to cheap labor. It could have driven our costs down with people who are just as good professionally as anyone here.

But it didn't. Purposefully. And this latest effort is enabling it to continue being unfair.

People have been demanding for years, and this is what they scooped up.

I don't see much hope in that approach., but we shall see.

[fleabiscuit]

11. I like the idea.

I'm usually at the 4 vial draw and hope to get the "the good" tech.
This would be an improvement.

Anyone up for maybe starting a side rant? Note this on the home page,

"Elizabeth Holmes is CEO of Theranos, which she founded in 2003. Elizabeth left Stanford University's School of Engineering to build Theranos around her patents and vision for healthcare."

There's a lot of pubic supported R&D that goes on for the "I built it myself crowd" that often enriches very few. Now that research could be debated about whether it is a benefit to the the public or not, but the point is the public is never consulted. We don't get that vote.

[LittleGirl]

12. This is a serious breakthrough for those of us

suffering with auto immune disorders and I am proud to kick and rec.

[tea and oranges]

13. I Have Blood Tests Every 3 Months

Usually, by the time I get home & get something to eat, I can log on to the hospital website & review the results. That's one hour until I get the results, not days or weeks.

Not that I would expect to undermine a claim by a company w/ Herr Kissinger on the board.

Speaking of blood, may I take a moment to remind all older DUers that prior to 1992 the blood supply was often tainted w/ Hepatitis C. I received a blood transfusion after my son was born in 1973, didn't exhibit full blown symptoms of Hep C (end stage liver disease) until 2009. If you're in that demographic, please, please, ask to be screened for Hep C. It could save your life. I needed & was given a liver transplant.

Much as there is to be said for being a medical miracle; it's easier to treat Hep C before patient is dropping dead.

Stepping down from the soap box...

[RiffRandell]

15. Wow.

I'm glad you're doing well. I'm sure it's nerve-wracking waiting for the results.

I think they've come a long way in treating it, when detected early.

[tea and oranges]

22. Thanks, I'm Fine

But please folks, get tested for Hep C. We went round & round trying to figure out how I could have gotten it. I didn't remember my transfusion until I was in hospital waiting for a liver. Being in that environment, for the 1st time since giving birth, reminded me.

So maybe others have forgotten. It should be a routine part of a physical by now, but it isn't. Get tested! Have your loved ones get tested.

[Skittles]

16. I have one every two to three weeks

they test my blood when I donate platelets

I hope you are doing well

[William769]

17. I'm all for it.

I have 12 tubes drawn every 3 months! And have since 2005. lets just say, I'm over it!

[Fumesucker]

18. Charge insurance companies by the pint?

More seriously, this sounds like great news...

[TZ]

19. I have a chronic blood disorder

And would welcome this as I get two tubes of blood drawn a month. But as for testing- I don't think this would work for more exotic testing ( like blood genetic testing) or for autoimmunity/immunological testing as you need serum to get the antibodies. You can't get that from whole blood... So while this technology is interesting and revolutionary it has limitations.
As for who is on the board of directors- sci companies often have high profile names, some of whom are unlikeable people but they never have a hand in the science that's done. I worked for a company that I heard had Rumsfeld on the board but he never made an appearance or interfered in the science going on.

[Uben]

21. In Other News......

....hospitals find new way to charge you 30 times as much for blood sample.



/sarcasm

[Helen Borg]

23. I would split the drop

Into 30 droplets.