Government funding may help improve STD detection

A British biotech company has been awarded government funds to continue its work on mobile devices that could boost the detection rate of serious sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, that are posing a growing public health threat around the world.

The Technology Strategy Board awarded more than 100,000 pounds to OJ-Bio to perfect prototypes of handheld wireless tools for instant detection of chlamydia using body fluids such as blood, urine and saliva, according to Medical News Today.

Dale Athey, the company's managing director, says the device will overcome the shortcomings of similar diagnostic tools on the market today, including limited sensitivity, speed, robustness, inconvenient format or difficulty in connecting to wireless networks, quoted by the news provider. He hopes it will result in faster diagnosis and intervention, thus limiting the spread of infections.

These developments may have significant implications for chlamydia testing in the U.S. as well, where 1.2 million people were diagnosed with the disease in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to wireless devices, online testing kits are among the most convenient screening methods.