Story highlights Testing blood often requires a range of laboratory equipment and trained clinicians and doctors to get an accurate result

Getting samples to a laboratory and getting the result is time consuming and labor-intensive

An Irish company has developed a 'blood test in a box' solution that allows a doctor to give an immediate reading

The device could be used in remote locations and has even been developed for use by astronauts in space

(CNN) For most of us, a blood test begins with a needle, a syringe and the promise it will all be over quickly.

But at the back end, testing blood often requires transporting the vial to a clinic, a range of laboratory equipment and trained clinicians and doctors to get an accurate result.

The whole process can take days, and in some cases even weeks.

But imagine if you could put the whole laboratory into a portable unit that delivered a reading immediately?

One Irish company says it has developed the solution -- a "clinic-in-a-box" that can test for a range of diseases or medical conditions in minutes, from just a single drop of blood.

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