What is a "biochip"?

It's a wafer-thin chip about the size of a fingernail that carries on its surface 1000's of tiny spots of DNA that program it to detect cancer-causing DNA in tumor tissue samples. After being exposed to an extract of the tissue, the brain tumor biochip is analyzed by a high-tech microscope.

By the end of this analysis, scientists have digitized data on the tumor's genetic structure. VCU scientists are focusing intensely on improving the biochip reading instrument itself to make it capable of even more advanced bioelectronic analyses, resulting in more precise descriptions of tumor behavior that should tell physicians even more about the identity of each brain tumor.

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