Startup Sets Sights on a DNA Test for Less Than $20

A California-based startup called InSilixa claims it has a highly accurate DNA-testing chip that can get results in an hour for less then $20 per test, with the handheld reader retailing for about $250. Here's how Qmed's fellow UBM publication EE|Times describes the technology: "The Hydra-1K could drastically undercut the expense and time required of current methods of detecting diseases, bringing molecular diagnostics to the point of care. However the design is just at the start of an 18-24 month round of field tests."Click here to read the full EE|Times story.DNA testing is one of the hot fields in medical technology.A Silicon Valley-based startup called BaseHealth, for example, is hoping to usher in the second wave of consumer-focused genomics with its online physician-managed platform known as Genophen.The development is a long time coming. The sequencing of the human genome "will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases," declared Bill Clinton--in 2000! Since then, the cost of sequencing has plummeted, and the speed of genomic sequencing has accelerated tremendously.And yet the average patient throughout the world has yet to see much of a tangible result from the breakthrough. The field of consumer genomics was recently set back further after FDA pressured Google-backed 23andMe (Mountain View, CA) to halt sales of its $99 genetic test analysis.