Grand Challenges Canada, Gates Foundation announce grants to develop portable diagnostic tools

The Canadian government-funded non-profit Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "have invested around $32 million in the discovery and development of new and improved diagnostic tools to help health workers in developing countries, with the aim of speeding up treatment and saving lives," IRIN reports (12/16). "Innovative point-of-care diagnostic tools such as a piece of woven fabric which can test blood or urine for disease and a simple, easy to use test for diagnosing diarrheal disease which is the biggest killer of developing world children under the age of five are some of the projects which are receiving funding," according to a Grand Challenges press release (.pdf) (12/16).