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Spinoff story
Fluorescent Diagnostic Test Readers Offer Fast, Low-Cost Results
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Ames Research Center wanted a simple, lightweight device to diagnose astronauts_ illnesses within minutes. Los Angeles-based Holomic, now Cellmic LLC, was hired as a subcontractor to develop a device that used a smartphone to read results from a lateral flow test strip_the same technology as a home pregnancy test_with ultraviolet light. The company had made similar devices using visible light. Cellmic markets its resulting HRDR-300 Fluorescent Immunoassay Reader to companies that develop their own tests.