Dennis Bidwell obituary

My father-in-law, Dennis Bidwell, who has died aged 88, played a crucial part in the development in 1976 of the microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa), a laboratory tool that has had a lasting impact on the diagnosis of disease.

The microplate consists of an eight-by-12 plastic grid of 96 small indentations numbered A1 to H12, which enables multiple tests to be carried out at the same time, rapidly and cheaply, using very small volumes of blood or other liquid samples. Research carried out by Dennis and his colleague Alister Voller demonstrated that the Elisa was superior to existing diagnostics for diseases including malaria and rubella. There was no commercial secrecy around the Elisa and so it became the most widely used diagnostic test for infective, immune, endocrine, cancer and haematological disorders, as well as horticultural and agricultural diseases.