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Interview: David Nolte, PhD
Professor of Physics
Purdue University

The future of diagnostic blood tests may lie in your computer's CD drive -- if a Purdue scientist can carry out his vision.

Dr. David Nolte, a professor of physics in Purdue's School of Science, has pioneered a method of creating analog CDs that can function as inexpensive diagnostic tools for protein detection. Each spot on the specially engineered compact disc is like a test tube and analyzes protein markers that can predict disease.

The current testing method requires several milliliters of blood and only allows for testing of ten to fifteen proteins at a time. Samples must be sent to an outside lab, where results often aren't available for one to two weeks. The new technology would allow doctors to perform instantaneous tests in their offices and would analyze thousands of proteins at trace levels using laser technology.

The BioCD could have tremendous potential for preventive medicine and could even be a means of tracking your personal health, believes Nolte. In principle, home computers could be equipped with a superdrive that could read the BioCD.

But all of this is a few years away, cautions Dr. Nolte. He and his research team are working on perfecting the technology right now.

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about Dr. Nolte's BioCD research from this Purdue University news release.
• Dr. Nolte explains how the BioCD works in this In this Quicktime movie.

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