Cheap Electronics on Paper Diagnostic Chips

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              Paper chips: This array of red LEDs built on a piece of paper can be folded without damaging the electronics.


Disposable diagnostic tests currently under development could offer medical workers and patients in rural areas more detailed health information, such as viral counts in the blood of HIV patients, without the need for expensive equipment such as cameras, computers, or even cell phones. Researchers at two startup companies and the University of Illinois are building all the capabilities of expensive lab-bench tests onto a piece of paper, without adding significant weight or other cost to the tests. The group behind these flexible arrays of LEDs, light detectors, and transistors is also working with medical-device companies to incorporate them into surgical tools and bedside monitors for hospitals.