A 16-year-old inventor came up with a clever way to detect heart disease faster and cheaper than before. The method involves a hacked printer that can quickly perform a test that’ll offer clues about whether a person might have heart disease.
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Adriel Sumathipala is the inventor in question and he came up with the idea while trying to find a way to measure his cholesterol levels in an affordable manner. That’s why he came up with this super cheap method, Business Insider reports, an achievement that netted him a spot on Google’s 20 Global Science Fair finalists.
His test isn’t measuring cholesterol directly but oxidized low-density lipoproteins, or Ox-LDL, a marker that’s even better at predicting cardiac disease.
Working with his biology teacher, the teenager built special Ox-LDL sensors. An inkjet printer would then deposit enzymes on the sensor, and the paper sensor would instantly indicate whether the level of Ox-LDL is high or low.
Each test would cost around $0.02, Sumathipala says, and the results are available in minutes.
“I envisioned a diagnostic that would place vital health data in the hands of doctors and patients and thus establish the framework for a personalized medicine revolution,” he wrote – more details about the project are available at the source link.
