Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/23
By: Chen Ching-fang and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwanese researchers have developed two test strips distinguishing the

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kind and dosage of pesticide in poisoned patients within several minutes, helping physicians to save lives more swiftly.

Cheng Chao-min (鄭兆珉), assistant professor in nanoengineering and microsystems at National Tsing Hua University, said Tuesday that the test strips were made for organophosphate and carbamate poisoning, the two most common forms of pesticide poisoning among Taiwanese people.

By dropping the patient’s serum on the test strip, physicians at the emergency room and division of clinical toxicology can determine what pesticide the patient had ingested purposely or mistakenly and how much they had taken, based on the resulting color change and shade range, Cheng said.     [FULL  STORY]