Researchers at Harvard, Peking University, and Yikon Genomics suggested that their noninvasive test is more specific than the prevailing biopsy-based method.
The company believes it can provide tests to predict patients' responsiveness to specific drugs akin to the molecular diagnostics that have now swelled the oncology space.
The researchers aim to offer the half-hour diagnostic assay for use during neurosurgery to help clinicians pursue the best treatment for patients with gliomas.
The researchers have prospectively validated a disposable cartridge-based microfluidic assay by obtaining results using fine-needle aspirates in 40 patients.
The firm said that its technology enables the detection of rare DNA variants with high accuracy to enable liquid biopsy diagnosis and treatments for multiple diseases.
The device being developed will interpret the scattered patterns of light that has passed through the body to enable cellular-level imaging and will compete with biopsies and blood tests.
One firm, Exosome Diagnostics, is working to streamline payor coverage for a commercial test, and researchers are simultaneously developing promising ways to isolate exosomes.
