XylemDx is a printable disease-testing kit (Image: Cambridge Consultants)

Think of it as origami that could save your life. A sheet of paper can be turned into a personalised diagnostic toolkit using nothing more than an inkjet printer and a few well-placed folds.

Developed by UK technology firm Cambridge Consultants, the system can test bodily fluids for medical conditions ranging from influenza to heart disease. It could make it easier and cheaper to diagnose populations at risk of infection.


This would revolutionise the way we handle diseases such as Ebola, claims the firm’s head of diagnostics, John Pritchard. “Instead of stockpiling tests in the event of an epidemic, you have something that can be manufactured rapidly and rolled out whenever a disease comes round,” he says.

The printer works by applying a specific pattern of test modules on to the paper’s surface. The modules can be changed depending on what disease is to be tested – for example, electronics as well as more complex optical components can be printed onto a sheet of porous paper, which can then be folded into a standardised test-cartridge shape.

The various test modules are then able to read off information about biological samples that flow through the pre-printed channels, allowing the diagnostic to be plugged into a computer or mobile device for instant diagnosis.

Seeking partnership

The company will be presenting an early prototype of the XylemDx system at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, later this month, in the hope of establishing the partnerships that it needs to manufacture a finished product.

“We’re expecting an 18-month to 2-year development programme until we get a validated product that’s out there for testing,” said Pritchard. The firm’s ultimate aim is to get the cost down to just a few pence per printed test.

Graham Cooke, who studies infectious diseases at Imperial College London, says that quicker diagnosis is vital.

“One of the limits to providing good quality care in parts of the world where resources are limited is access to good-quality diagnostics. There’s no doubt about that,” he says.

“The problems associated with diagnosing conditions such as hepatitis are potentially a greater limitation than the drugs themselves.”