SAN ANTONIO – University of Texas at San Antonio researchers have discovered a new method to accurately detect blood infections.

The study could make life-saving blood tests available to be taken without ever leaving the house.

Researchers want to find an easier, quicker and more accurate method to test for infections.

The joint study paired up UTSA's Chemistry Department and the UTSA Center for Innovative Drug Discovery.

Using a laser printer, researchers are able to store infection-detecting molecules inside a testing strip. The strip can detect the type of infection and determine how severe the infection could be using an electrochemical approach.

The strip is similar to what a diabetic patient uses to test blood sugar levels.

Researchers said if people can test for infections at home, hospital beds can be freed up, potentially saving billions of dollars in medical costs.

Leading researchers Waldemar Gorski and Stanton McHardy have published two papers. Their work is getting a lot of attention. The University of New England is now using the UTSA study as a teaching tool.

Gorski and McHardy plan to work with an engineer to streamline their strip design.