A newly invented micro chip, which is no bigger than a regular secure digital card, has been introduced to the public. Researchers claim that this groundbreaking invention could be beneficial not just to the regular consumers, doctors and pharmaceutical companies, but also to animals.

Harvard Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering named this clear plastic chip as "organs-on-chips." Apparently, it can imitate the functions of the major human organs 

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Reduce Animal Reliance 

Research studies of  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) show that about 100 million animals are being used for food, cosmetic, drug, and chemical testing annually. This include but not limited to the following: rabbits, hamsters, mice, frogs, guinea pigs and dogs. 

The advocates of animal rights have been protesting to stop animal testing because it's nothing but cruelty and futility. Furthermore, studies show successful animal testing isn't always a guaranteed success in humans, Pulse Headlines reported.  

The founding director of the Wyss Institute, Don Ingber, said that they now have a window on the activities inside the human organs. This includes the things happening only in the human cells.

Real Time Observation 

The chip is made up of a clear, polymer stick. It contains micro-channels, lined with human body cells, which copies the tissue structure and the actual organ function, The Christian Science Monitor learned. 

Compared to animal testing which could take time, this microchip enables scientists to make real-time observations on the processes occurring in the human body, in a microscale level.

Speeds Up the Development of New Drugs 

In developing new drugs, scientists would do animal testing first. Again, that could take time. 

Researchers of Wyss said that it could take years to complete clinical studies, this includes animal testing. Plus, the cost of testing a single compound can go more than $2 million. 

The best thing about this chip is doctors can reproduce replica of human organs and test them for drug side effects right there and then.

The pre-clinical trial testing is now on the works. Emulate is now coordinating with companies including Johnson and Johnson, who even wants to introduce the chip in one of its programs. 

The researchers' goal is to build a network of chips and link them together to form human body that can reveal the effects of cosmetic, drug and chemical testing. With this being said, the organs-on-chips can become the pharmaceutical's primary testbed, according to the report of BGR. 

This invention was awarded by London's Design Museum as the Design of the Year.

TagsOrgan Chip, Human testing, Science, technology, Human Organs