World's first urine-based tuberculosis diagnostics tool

May 9 2011

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., (PINK SHEETS:BMGP - News) a developer of revolutionary diagnostics systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, in a new video today unveiled the world's first urine-based tuberculosis diagnostics tool. This revolutionary optical biosensor diagnostics device was developed by top scientists, chemists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory via a cooperative research and development agreement between the two organizations.

“Not only will the device provide a qualitative tuberculosis diagnosis in a fraction of the time of other testing protocols it will also provide these results at only a fraction of the cost, commented Clayton Hardman, CEO of Biomagnetics Diagnostics.”

The waveguide-based system is capable of providing a qualitative tuberculosis diagnosis using only a few drops of human urine in a timeframe of only 15 to 20 minutes. This is a significant breakthrough compared to sputum, blood and skin tests that often take several days or weeks for results. Recently developed PCR-based diagnostics which take approximately two hours to produce results are significantly more expensive.

"Not only will the device provide a qualitative tuberculosis diagnosis in a fraction of the time of other testing protocols it will also provide these results at only a fraction of the cost, commented Clayton Hardman, CEO of Biomagnetics Diagnostics." "While the current cost profile is already significantly lower than other tests, we are already working on a new waveguide design that will likely allow us to reduce the cost per test even further." "The unit shown in this video is a desktop unit; however, the products for ultimate delivery to the market will also include a handheld device that can be operated by relatively untrained medical personnel at the point of patient care. We see nothing on the market today, or on the immediate horizon, that can compare to the capabilities of this technology. We congratulate the scientific staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory on the outstanding developmental effort they have put forth."