"Innovations in Medical/Bio-technology" ABBY Award Winner  
Osmetech’s eSensor® Technology to Detect Nucleic Acids on a Microarray:  Osmetech Molecular Diagnostics provides cutting-edge, cost-effective molecular diagnostic technologies and tools that enable a broader range of hospitals and laboratories to offer molecular diagnostic services for improved patient care. The company’s eSensor® is the first FDA-cleared DNA microarray product based on electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization for molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. eSensor® employs a novel technology that offers tremendous potential towards miniaturization of DNA diagnostic systems. The eSensor® device consists of an inexpensive printed circuit board (PCB) microarray chip that contains 72 electrodes; each is a DNA micro-sensor coated with specific DNA molecules with unique sequences. The device allows direct electronic measurement of a patient’s DNA at the surface of electrodes for genotype analysis. The device also employs another novel technology -- microfluidic Lab-on-a-chip, to reduce test time from 2 hours to 30 minutes. As the demand for and acceptance of molecular diagnostic tests multiplies, so does the rate of testing decentralization. The movement of this testing into the clinical labs of mid-size hospitals requires greater simplicity, flexible testing capabilities, and cost-effectiveness. The eSensor’s use of electrochemical detection schemes obviates the need for conventionally large and expensive optical scanners.