Biochips — Medical tools of the 21st century

Biochips are minute sample carriers made either of glass, plastic or silicon. They can be used to simultaneously perform and evaluate several thousand genetic tests. In coming years, biochips will make their way into the realm of clinical medicine, and all major diagnostic laboratories will offer genetic tests based on this technology.

Biochips allow a diagnostic precision in detecting tumours that was previously considered impossible. They help physicians predict more accurately than conventional methods whether a cancer will metastacise, to what drugs it will respond and what the patient's survival prognosis is. Very soon, physicians will base their oncological decisions on findings stemming from the use of biochips.

Tailored drug therapies also require extensive genetic testing. A biochip now available on the market is apparently capable of doing this reliably and at comparatively small cost. Its sale has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the US licensing authority.

However, biochips will also play a major role in science, where they will be used to probe the genetic makeup of common diseases. Once these diseases have been explored, the clinical application of biochips will open up astounding possibilities for predictive medicine.

Our technical article, which is available for download, illustrates the potential of biochip technology using two examples, i.e. the differentiation and prognosis of breast cancer and tailored drug treatment (pharmacogenetics). The article concludes by analysing whether and to what extent biochips are relevant for the insurance industry, where biochips have already become an issue in a few isolated instances and will play an ever greater role in future.

Picture credit: Institut für Microtechnik Mainz GmbH (IMM)