Got Chinese toys? We’ve got a technology for you to check how plumbum enriched your child is. Last week, at the Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Medical Technology Awards, Magellan Biosciences of Chelmsford, Massachusetts received the 2009 North American Product Innovation Award for the company’s rapid lead poisoning blood test system. The CLIA-waived LeadCare II point-of-care system provides results within three minutes from two droplets (50 μl) of blood, eliminating delays associated with sending samples to the lab.
Here are the basics of how the system works:
1. Whole blood is added to the reagent solution (Fig. 1),
2. Any lead present is released from the blood components (Fig. 2).
3. Now, any lead in the reagent solution is concentrated (plated) onto a thin-film electrode during the plating step of the analysis cycle (Fig. 3).
4. The plated lead is removed from the electrode by applying a stripping current (Fig. 4). The amount of lead is measured by integration of the electrical current released during this rapid electrochemical step.
Press release: Magellan To Receive Frost & Sullivan 2009 North American Product Innovation Award;
Product page: LeadCare® II point-of-care system
