A recent addition to the list of Swedish inventions is the HIV tracker: a sensitive device used for mapping out and detecting the spread of HIV and other viruses.
Martin HedstrĂśm HIV tracker
A Swedish doctor in Biotechnology
Tilde Westman, Andrea Koniari, Smilla SmedjegĂĽrden, Linnea Sundkvist, Pontus Hotti, Jonna Phil, Lauin Mariwani
Martin Hedström
Tilde Westman, Andrea Koniari, Smilla Smedjegården, Linnea Sundkvist, Pontus Hotti, Jonna Pihl, Lauin Mariwani
Martin Hedström is a doctor in Biotechnology at The Faculty of Engineering at Lund University. He is one of a few owners of the Swedish biotechnology company called Capsenze. He has developed a technique that can measure and reveal traces of poison, virus and several other substances found in liquid form.
What is HIV
Freddie Mercury is a famous person who died of AIDS and HIV
HIV is a virus that attacks cells in the immune system, which is our body’s natural defense against illness. The virus destroys a type of white blood cell in the immune system called a T-helper cell and makes copies of itself inside these cells. T-helper cells are also referred to as CD4 cells. As HIV destroys more CD4 cells and makes more copies of itself, it gradually weakens a person’s immune system. This means that someone who has HIV, and isn’t taking antiretroviral treatment, will find it harder and harder to fight off infections and diseases. HIV is not deadly, but it can lead to AIDS which is deadly.
HIV tracker Swedish scientists have developed new highly sensitive equipment that may have a huge impact on tracking the spread of HIV and detecting signs of bio terrorism and water contamination. Today, doctors can be forced to wait on test results for weeks or even months before being able to diagnose a patient with HIV. But with this new HIV tracker the scientists believe that the new device could be developed to deliver an answer within 15 minutes. It means that you potentially can combat the spread of the disease and also start treating the patient early on, which can have a huge benefits for the patient. It has taken scientists twenty years to develop the device, which is small enough to fit in a shoebox. The equipment can detect extremely small amounts of toxins, virus or other contaminants in liquids and could therefore potentially be used to expose any acts of bioterrorism. It could also be used for testing water supplies in the third world and combat the spread of cholera and other waterborne diseases. The device will now be developed further to detect multi-resistant bacteria in patients.