Breakthrough on blood tests could take them into the home UTAS PhD researcher Aliaa Shallan with the blood testing device she invented. Picture: Richard Jupe Source: Mercury UNIVERSITY of Tasmania student Aliaa Shallan has invented a miniature measuring tool that could change the face of personal medical treatment. Millions of people would be able to test their blood using the device, which could even be run with a smartphone. "I created nanofilters using controlled lightning -- an electric field applied across a thin part of the device," Ms Shallan, a PhD science student at UTAS, said. The cost is the lowest among existing nanofabrication techniques. It can fit into one hand and costs just a couple of dollars a test, allowing millions to test their own blood at home rather than in a hospital laboratory. "We keep working on making it smaller and smaller," she said. Once it's ready, it will have immediate application, it could even be attached to a smartphone. The device has the potential to analyse the blood for drugs such as anti-psychotics and anti-epileptics. The invention is a big step forward in the race to develop personal medical treatments by tailoring dosage according to the drug level in the blood to ensure the best benefit. Ms Shallan said devices like hers make personalised medicine affordable, dramatically changing the quality of life for millions of people around the world and save governments money without increasing the load on hospitals. Her research was published recently in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal, Chemical Communications. The next step in the device's development is miniaturisation of other instrument parts. Ms Shallan has declined to patent her invention, preferring to publish the information in the hope that other researchers can help speed its commercialisation. She received funding from the Egyptian government and the Australian Research Council for her work.