Rapid Diagnostics for Extreme and Low-Resource Environments

Rapid diagnostics can determine whether care moves quickly or stalls in disaster zones, military operations, rural clinics, and global health settings where conventional laboratory infrastructure is unavailable. In this episode, Dr. Paul Yager ofthe University of Washington discusses the engineering behind low-cost point-of-care diagnostics, including microfluidics, paper-based systems, smartphone-enabled readouts, and lab-on-a-chip platforms designed to deliver actionable results closer to the patient. The conversation explores how thesetools are designed for ruggedness, usability, affordability, and reliability when sample handling, power, connectivity, and trained personnel are limited.