I don't have gout. That's good news.
I don't have diabetes, muscle damage, liver disease or anything wrong with my prostate either. I'm not boasting, I do have some issues -- I have a pretty significant vitamin D deficiency, and my HDL ("good") cholesterol level is a bit low.
But it's nice to know these things, and the reason that I know them is a blood test from Randox Health Checks. Randox uses biochip arrays -- small miniturised laboratories that can simultaneously perform a wide range of biochemical reactions. More than 100 tests can be crammed onto a single centimetre-squre chip. In this way, significantly more information can be collected in a much shorter space of time than using traditional blood testing methods.
It works using chemoluminesence.
The reaction zones on the chip are tuned so that they emit small amounts of light based on the amount of a certain molecule present.
That light is detected by a camera cooled to -50C, and after being compared with control zones on the chip, is turned into a number that reflects the concentration of that molecule in the sample.
That's how I know that my uric acid level, which is a blood marker associated with poor kidney function that can cause crystals to form in joints, is 0.39 mmol/l -- safely within the optimal range for someone of my height and weight. I'm safe from gout.
Radox Health Checks is an offshoot from Randox Labs -- a Northern Irish company which has been developing technology for hospitals for 30 years. I took the company's Atlas package, which includes 133 different tests, applied to three vials of blood and a urine sample that were collected in Randox's airy clinic close to Liverpool St station in London.
The process was simple and took about an hour. You have to fast for 12 hours beforehand, but an early-morning appointment means that isn't too traumatic.
After the appointment, I spoke to Andrew Cartwright, the laboratory manager, who showed off the machines used to analyse the samples, and explained the quality control process which, he says, the company takes very seriously. Every biochip has reference spots that should give certain readings, and if they don't then all the results are dumped and the test entirely repeated.
The chief benefit of the biochip system, Cartwright says, is that when the company develops a new test it doesn't need to replace the machines -- it just ships a new set of chips out, and the machine does its light-detecting magic as normal. This, apparently, happens several times a year.
A week or so after my consultation, an envelope landed on my doormat, containing a detailed report of the results of every single one of my tests. But rather than just a list of numbers, the company puts them into context -- explaining the normal ranges for a person of your height, weight and lifestyle, and showing you where you fit into that range. Introductory text also explains how each part of the test reflects your biology, and the implications for any particularly high or low results.
It's a highly readable and understandable approach, but in case it's not enough, the company also offers a follow-up appointment with a consultant who can answer questions and handle any follow-up information that you require. I enquired about what exactly I could do about my whopping Vitamin D deficiency, though the answer was exactly what I was expecting -- get more exercise, get some sun, and improve my diet.
At no point are any diagnoses made, however, and the Randox team were keen to point out every step of the way that if you're concerned about any of your results then the best person to talk to about it is your GP.
That seems like a good point to bring up the question of whether you actually need one of Randox's health checks at all. If you're ill, you should go to your doctor, who can arrange for any necessary tests to be carried out and directly interpret the results. Instead, Randox says that its checks are "a bit like an MOT" for your body instead -- more there to check that everything is running smoothly, rather than to address a specific complaint.
It's aimed more at preventative than curative healthcare.
But it's a pricy service. The Atlas package that I got costs £1,095, though cut-down versions with fewer tests are available at intervals of £725, £499, £299 and £150. If you're really feeling flush, you can bolt on a series of tests for stress for an additional £595, or pick a package that includes those tests and a collection of hormonal status checks for £1,995. "We're bringing to the tests to people, and letting them choose if they want them," Randox told me. "It's lifesaving in some cases."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
