Mobile POC System for infectious diseases in horses
A life science alliance of five institutions and companies from Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein develops an easy-to-use portable mini-laboratory named OPTOCHIP.
The infection of horses with highly contagious equine herpesviruses or other treacherous infections is a serious issue not only for their owners but also for riding stable operators and the organizers of horse shows and tournaments.
The diagnosis of infectious diseases in veterinary medicine is currently central laboratory based and therefore very time-consuming. It takes day to weeks before a result comes back to the veterinarian. Valuable time often passes before appropriate measures can be taken. This can be very costly, as the horses might not get the right treatment in time, but also because of expensive quarantine time for stable operators. The approach of the OPTOCHIP project is to develop a test that takes only 30 minutes from sample collection to result and that can be performed on the spot by the veterinarian. With this new technology it will be possible to save time in the diagnosis of infectious diseases in the barn and significant follow-up costs. Read more