by
Lynn Shapiro, Writer | November 03, 2008
* "The same approach can be used to screen patients for other cancers or heart disease," Granger says.
* A rapid, card-reader test for genital or oral herpes could help reduce the number of Caesarean sections. If obstetricians suspect maternal herpes, they sometimes do C-sections to avoid transmission to the newborn, Porter says. A conclusive, rapid test for herpes can tell doctors if a C-section is really necessary.
* Porter envisions GMR sensors as tools for personalized medicine, in which "you want to establish everybody's baseline with various health markers" - tests for various diseases and disease susceptibilities. Then, people would monitor health changes by periodic re-testing in a doctor's office, pharmacy or perhaps at home.
* GMR sensors could provide rapid detection of porcine parvovirus, a respiratory infection that kills pigs; feline calicivirus, fatal to cats; and bacteria that cause Johne's (pronounced yo-knees) disease, a fatal wasting disorder in dairy cows that costs $1.5 billion annually in the United States.
For more information on USTAR, see: http://www.ustar.utah.edu/
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