The first patient testimony about a Theranos test result
theverge.com> Gould’s previous miscarriages meant her pregnancy was considered high-risk, so Zachman ordered tests for hCG, an important hormone in pregnancy. In a normal pregnancy, its value doubles every 48 to 72 hours, Zachman said. Gould first took a test from Quest on September 30th, 2014, with a value of 1,005. Then, on October 2nd, a Theranos test showed her levels had jumped to 12,558; on October 4th, another Theranos test showed those values had plummeted to 125.58.
> While Zachman told Gould the test values suggested a miscarriage, she also told Gould to keep taking her prenatal vitamins and to get another test. This test, from Quest, on October 6th, showed results consistent with a normal pregnancy. So did the next value from Quest.
Wow, I can't begin to imagine the horror she must've experienced when reading those results.
"Move fast and break things" and "fake it 'till you make it" mentalities really have no place in medical care and diagnostics. I hope Holmes and Balwani both have the book thrown at them.
Talk about trying to pull at heart strings. Good grief.
The truly sad thing about this whole debacle is it will set back research to perfect this kind of blood testing for decades.
I sure that's great news for the greedy fingers of the modern medical industry. They've already succeeded in (mostly) making genetic tests a one gene per pop $ transaction (hence what happened to 23andMe).
Defrauding the billionaire investors was likely not enough to get a lengthy jail sentence, so of course they do. Why shouldn't they, it's not like the victims aren't real?
But I don't see of it sets back research at all, if anything money invested in Theranos wasn't money available for companies doing something meaningful...