Past Winner
2016 NSERC Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering

Waiting days for the results of a diagnostic test is not only frustrating, it also raises health care costs and compromises patient care. Fortunately, your doctor will soon have access to a new device that can generate those test results on site in less than 20 minutes.

This cost-effective device and platform, called AuRA, is a breakthrough in point-of-care diagnostics and the result of an 11-year partnership that unites Dr. Shana Kelley’s expertise in electrochemistry and biochemistry with Dr. Edward H. Sargent’s experience in engineering physics, electrical engineering and nanomaterials.

Rapid and reliable point-of-care testing will transform the way health care is delivered. More specific and rapid diagnoses will help limit the spread of infectious disease and control antibiotic resistance.

Kelley and Sargent are also developing a disposable device that can be used in the developing world, where testing in remote locations is often difficult because electricity and the expertise of clinical-laboratory technicians may be unavailable.