Chip-mediated techniques: how close are we to generalised use in the infectious disease clinic?

This could be the beginning of a new molecular era for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Biological chips (biochips or microarrays and labchips) offer a potentially important shortcut to early diagnosis and treatment. It is also possible to develop multiplex assays for use in complex diagnostic situations; however, this technology depends crucially on the robotics developed to support these functions, and the soundness of the mathematics employed to analyse the output. Although the number of research applications is increasing, the question as to when, or if, chip-mediated techniques will be used routinely in the infectious disease clinic remains unanswered at present.