The University of Tasmania has created a $5 million research centre in the hope of making medical technology more mobile.
Scientists aim to reduce the time it takes between collecting samples and delivering results to patients through a portable device that connects to a smart phone.
They hope to achieve the same feat as computer makers, who have made their equipment smaller and more mobile, but rather miniaturising equipment that is usually only found in a laboratory, the university’s Professor Emily Hilder said.
“What we’re trying to do is take technology that’s in a lab that requires a dedicated operator and very very large equipment… 40 or 50 kg, and take it and miniaturise it into something which you could connect to a mobile phone,” she said.
The university has signalled just how serious it is taking the project by launching a new $5.2 million research centre aimed at creating the technology needed to turn the vision into reality.
University vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen said the centre would help to train the next generation of scientists.
“We are offering three postdoctoral research fellowships and scholarships for 10 PhD students through this centre,” he said.
“The centre will have a significant impact on the development of hight end manufacturing in Australia both through its research and and by creating a new cohort of industry-ready researchers in a field poised for rapid advancement.”
Researchers hope that 10 years from now some laboratories could become a thing of the past, with the development of a handheld device that can take samples and provide results on the spot.
The project has already caught the attention of scientists from other fields who are hoping the technology can be used speed up their work.
Richard Coleman from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies said such a device would be very useful for Antarctic expeditioners.
“For access to deep field expeditions in Antarctica or for being able to analyse water samples for biology form ships,” he said he saw numerous applications.