A medical diagnostic chip is a medical device comprising a biosensor, a mixed-signal integrated circuit, and bio-packaging. The technology involves immobilizing large numbers of probe molecules on a substrate and hybridizing them with fluorescently labeled DNA or other sample molecules. By measuring the intensity of each probe’s hybridization signal, the system determines the quantity and sequence information of the molecules in the sample.
Biochip technology integrates advances in molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, materials science, semiconductor technology, microelectronics, and optoelectronic integration. Through microfabrication, thousands of biologically relevant molecular information units are incorporated into chips ranging from millimeters to centimeters in size. These chips monitor and analyze biochemical reaction processes and enable the rapid, accurate, high-throughput, and cost-effective detection of biologically active components such as DNA, RNA, peptides, and proteins. The technology creates new possibilities in research on the origin of life, genetics, development and evolution, as well as disease prediction and prevention, early diagnosis, and personalized treatment.
Medical diagnostic chips are primarily used in disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment; pharmaceutical research and development; national defense; forensic identification; and customs inspection and quarantine. They also support the development of large-scale human health data platforms.
Medical diagnostic chip categories include:
● Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diagnostic chips
● Genetic disorder screening chips
● Cancer detection chips
● Viral detection chips
● Forensic identification chips
● Rapid blood-testing chips
Potential applications of medical diagnostic chips include:
● Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, including myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
● Genetic and inherited conditions, including Down syndrome, thalassemia, hemophilia, Alzheimer’s disease, albinism, congenital deaf-mutism, juvenile diabetes, color blindness, acromegaly, Turner syndrome, and Klinefelter syndrome.
● Cancers and tumors, including lung, liver, gastric, breast, brain, colon, rectal, pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, nasopharyngeal, esophageal, prostate, thyroid, bone, kidney, skin, oral mucosal, thymic, and other cancers, as well as leukemia, lymphoma, and melanoma.
● Infectious diseases and viruses, including HIV, hepatitis, SARS, MERS, COVID-19, H1N1 influenza, Ebola, hantavirus, dengue fever, and rabies.
● Forensic and identity-related testing, including parentage, biological sex, cognitive assessment, and psychiatric evaluation.
● Common clinical laboratory parameters, including complete blood counts, blood chemistry, immune markers, liver function, and kidney function.