I’ve heard of PCR before (polymerase chain reaction) where more copies of a DNA sample can be rapidly made. If the problem was that the quantity of blood that Theranos uses is too small, why wasn’t PCR used/ (if it was) why didn’t it work?
Also if I’m completely misunderstanding PCR, if someone could for that too, I’d appreciate it, thank you!
In: 148
Theranos was promising that it could do blood tests to check cholesterol, vitamin levels, and blood sugar as well as antibodies from herpes and HIV all from finger pricks. Oh, and Theranos was also saying that all those tests could also be done with very quickly with small automated machines.
Some of this might be theoretically possible at some point in the future and some of it may well always be more in the realm of science fiction.
One problem from the outset was that finger pricks collect blood from small blood vessels known as capillaries. Now, taking blood from capillaries can sometimes rupture the blood cells and, thus, produce inaccurate results. Capillary blood also frequently fails to give as consistent values of cholesterol and lipids as vein blood. Which is, obviously, not a good thing if you’re trying to test someone’s cholesterol levels. One of Elizabeth Holmes’ professors at Stanford, Phyllis Gardner, told her of these problems with capillary blood tests, but she chose to ignore it. (This is not to say that all capillary blood tests are worthless: capillary glucose tests work quite well, which is why diabetics use them so often.)
The other problem is Theranos’ blood testing machine, the Edison, never really worked right. The Edison was prone to overheating, its doors wouldn’t close, and it often shattered glass slides placed in it.
Finally, there are currently limits on how many blood tests can be done with just one drop of blood. Theranos was claiming it could do thousands and they … massively overstated the case. To do even one or two tests from drops of blood, they had to massively dilute the sample, which made it more susceptible to giving badly inaccurate results. During Elizabeth Holmes’ trial, there was testimony from a woman who said that Theranos’ tests falsely told her she was having a miscarriage and another that said she’d misdiagnosed as having HIV antibodies.
A sort of general consensus about Theranos is that Elizabeth Holmes would have done better to finish her bachelor’s degree at Stanford and then also get a master’s and a Ph.D in chemistry or an MD. She wanted to imitate Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, yet there are, uh, many differences between medicine and computer science. To put it bluntly, there’s a reason why you have to get a lot more education and training to become a doctor than a computer programmer.
I’ve heard of PCR before (polymerase chain reaction) where more copies of a DNA sample can be rapidly made. If the problem was that the quantity of blood that Theranos uses is too small, why wasn’t PCR used/ (if it was) why didn’t it work?
Also if I’m completely misunderstanding PCR, if someone could for that too, I’d appreciate it, thank you!
In: 148
Theranos was promising that it could do blood tests to check cholesterol, vitamin levels, and blood sugar as well as antibodies from herpes and HIV all from finger pricks. Oh, and Theranos was also saying that all those tests could also be done with very quickly with small automated machines.
Some of this might be theoretically possible at some point in the future and some of it may well always be more in the realm of science fiction.
One problem from the outset was that finger pricks collect blood from small blood vessels known as capillaries. Now, taking blood from capillaries can sometimes rupture the blood cells and, thus, produce inaccurate results. Capillary blood also frequently fails to give as consistent values of cholesterol and lipids as vein blood. Which is, obviously, not a good thing if you’re trying to test someone’s cholesterol levels. One of Elizabeth Holmes’ professors at Stanford, Phyllis Gardner, told her of these problems with capillary blood tests, but she chose to ignore it. (This is not to say that all capillary blood tests are worthless: capillary glucose tests work quite well, which is why diabetics use them so often.)
The other problem is Theranos’ blood testing machine, the Edison, never really worked right. The Edison was prone to overheating, its doors wouldn’t close, and it often shattered glass slides placed in it.
Finally, there are currently limits on how many blood tests can be done with just one drop of blood. Theranos was claiming it could do thousands and they … massively overstated the case. To do even one or two tests from drops of blood, they had to massively dilute the sample, which made it more susceptible to giving badly inaccurate results. During Elizabeth Holmes’ trial, there was testimony from a woman who said that Theranos’ tests falsely told her she was having a miscarriage and another that said she’d misdiagnosed as having HIV antibodies.
A sort of general consensus about Theranos is that Elizabeth Holmes would have done better to finish her bachelor’s degree at Stanford and then also get a master’s and a Ph.D in chemistry or an MD. She wanted to imitate Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, yet there are, uh, many differences between medicine and computer science. To put it bluntly, there’s a reason why you have to get a lot more education and training to become a doctor than a computer programmer.
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