An up date on the development of this exciting
new technology.
Pictured right, Dr Graeme Barnett with the tiny chip set to change the way we diagnose
The
Future of DNA Diagnostic Testing: Implications for the Aquaculture
Industry
For several generations the gold-standard methods of detecting the presence of a bacterium, virus or fungus, and identifying its species required the specialised expertise of microbiologists and a large, expensively equipped laboratory. Samples are collected and transported to a microbiology laboratory and after several days, or weeks, or even months, the results are delivered to the customer, at considerable expense. Unfortunately for doctors, veterinarians or farmers, and more importantly their patients, clients, animals or crops, delays in diagnosis can be disastrous.
Laboratory tests to detect the DNA or RNA of microorganisms have been improving in sensitivity and ease of use over the past twenty years, and are now considered routine. However these tests in their present form require costly reagents and equipment and highly trained personnel, and they cannot perform more than a few simultaneous tests on a single sample.
A paradigm shift in how infectious diseases are diagnosed is now underway. Miniature testing devices known as biochips, which permit multiple tests to be performed simultaneously in a single test chamber, have been steadily evolving over the past ten years. Biochips are well positioned to become the predominant technology to diagnose infection and other diseases and genetic conditions in the 21st century.
BioChip Innovations Pty Ltd is a Brisbane-based DNA diagnostic company actively developing DNA diagnostic tests using state of the art biochip technology that will precisely identify the cause of infection in just a few minutes. The Company is developing novel hand-held diagnostic biochip systems suitable for on-site testing as well as larger scale laboratory testing systems. Real-time infectious disease diagnosis will transform management practices in medicine, veterinary medicine, and agriculture, enabling earlier intervention that will save lives and significantly reduce the potential for economic losses in farming.
This presentation will describe the research and development activities of BioChip Innovations and the future impact of rapid DNA diagnostic technologies in the aquaculture industry.
Dr Graeme Barnett (President & CEO of BioChip Innovations Pty Ltd)) has 30 years experience in microbiological and biomedical research, infectious disease diagnostics and corporate biotechnology and nanotechnology, the past 15 at senior management level.
Previously he was Vice-President for Technology Development and R&D at PANBIO Limited, an ASX listed company based in Brisbane, for more than 5 years, building a team of 15 research scientists, and before that was Scientific Director and head of the Virology Unit, Hunter Area Pathology Service in NSW. He is author of seven patent applications including several relating to the core business of BCI.
Graeme has actively pursued the vision of being a champion of an emerging biotechnology business and to this end brought the current board together to form BioChip Innovations in May 2003 to launch a unique business model and take a leadership role in the delivery of biochip DNA diagnostic products.
Graeme Barnett holds BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in medical microbiology.