A low-cost portable device can diagnose a heart attack in minutes

According to a study published in "Lab on a Chip", researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Florida have developed a sensor that can be used in 30 minutes Heart attack is diagnosed within

Currently, it takes several hours for medical professionals to diagnose a heart attack

"The current methods used to diagnose a heart attack are not only time-consuming, but must be applied within a certain period of time to get accurate results," said Pinar Zolu, a professor at Notre Dame’s Sheen Family School of Engineering and the lead author of the paper.

By targeting three different types of microRNA or miRNA, the newly developed sensor can distinguish between acute heart attack and reperfusion (blood flow restoration or reperfusion injury), and requires less blood than traditional diagnostic methods to do this

Hsueh-Chia Chang, a Bayer professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame and co-author of the paper, said: "The technology developed for this sensor shows the advantages of using miRNA, and protein-based biomarkers are traditional diagnostics.

A patent application for this sensor has been submitted, and the researchers are collaborating with the IDEA Center of the University of Notre Dame, and it is possible to establish a start-up company to produce this device