Blood tests for cancer and other diseases could be carried out in minutes using a revolutionary microchip detector.

Scientists have successfully tested the technology for the first time to detect biomarkers for prostate and breast cancer.

The device uses arrays of tiny "nanosensors" that catch specific proteins in blood.

It could be developed to test for numerous conditions ranging from cancers to heart disease at the same time.

"Doctors could have these small, portable devices in their offices and get nearly instant readings," said Dr Tarek Fahmy, a member of the US development team at Yale University.

"They could also carry them into the field and test patients on site."

At present blood tests involve taking a sample, sending it to a laboratory, and subjecting it to chemical analysis.

Often patients have to wait several days to get their results. The new microchip can deliver biomarker readings in a matter of minutes.

The device is also much more precise than existing technologies so that results are less dependent on human interpretation.

The chip is embedded with microscopic nanowires sensitive to certain "antigen" proteins which act as markers for different diseases. The research is reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.