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Revision as of 23:39, 28 October 2017

Cost modelling

Our test is much cheaper than existing solutions, especially when you consider the final product will be a multiplexing assay which will test for many diseases simultaneously.

Qiagen PAXgene blood RNA tube: 1 @ £752 / 100 kits[1] £7.52
Qiagen miRNeasy Mini Kit: 1 @£1115 / 250 kits[2] £4.46
Taking a blood sample inc. labour[3] £3.42
Medical lab technician’s time: 15 minutes @ £8.45 / hour[4] £2.11
Paper-based toehold switch biosensor: 50 @ 1.7p / 1 μl switch[5] £0.85
Other lab equipment e.g. sterilisation: tubes: gloves (approx)[3] £0.30
Total £18.66

We estimated 15 minutes of lab technician’s time based off the advice of Professor Lovat and Dr Pregibon. The processing of miRNA takes approximately 2 hours for 8 samples. However, if this process was further automated, this cost could be significantly reduced.

The total figure is likely to be an overestimate, as the two major components, namely the PAXgene blood RNA tube and the miRNAeasy Mini Kit which make up over 70% of the total aren’t for clinical use. These products are targeted at researchers and small volume applications, and have many extra features to match - which would not be required for our sensor. Economies of scale and stripping the products down to their core functions could introduce further significant savings.

We believe our test would cost less than £15 ($20) once this is taken into account, making it extremely cost effective as it can test for several diseases simultaneously.

Large cost savings could come by testing saliva instead of blood. Looking into the financials:

Qiagen miRNeasy Mini Kit: 1 @ £1115 / 250 kits[2] £4.46
Medical lab technician’s time: 15 minutes @ £8.45 / hour[4] £2.11
Paper-based toehold switch biosensor: 50 @ 1.7p / 1 μl switch[5] £0.85
Other lab equipment e.g. sterilisation, tubes, gloves (approx)[3] £0.60
Total £8.02

However, there are fewer combinations of miRNAs present in saliva, and they are present in much lower concentrations. Saliva is also less accurate as its composition can drastically change depending on what was recently eaten so we didn’t look much more into this. However, it could be a good area for further research.

Another cost involved in the test is the upfront equipment costs - see how we made a combined densitometer and fluorometer for less than £4 on our hardware page!
  1. ↑ Qiagen PAXgene blood RNA tube price from a quote via email
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 QIAGEN (n.d.). RNA Isolation Kit: RNeasy Mini Kit. Retrieved October 8: 2017: fromhttps://www.qiagen.com/gb/shop/sample-technologies/rna/total-rna/rneasy-mini-kit/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 GOV.UK (2014: November 27). NHS reference costs 2013 to 2014. Retrieved October 8: 2017: fromhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-reference-costs-2013-to-2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 NHS Employers (2017). Agenda for Change: NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Clarmyra Hayes (2012: August 12). Cell-Free Circuit Breadboard Cost Estimate. OpenWetWare. Retrieved October 8: 2017: fromhttps://openwetware.org/wiki/Biomolecular_Breadboards:Protocols:cost_estimate