With a little nano-scopic help, researchers will soon be able to develop disease targeting drugs up to 10,000 times faster, according to a recent study.

The technology, wherein nano beads with tiny pins match drugs to disease markers, was developed by Wake Forest University. This new research confirms its effectiveness. Called the “lab-on-bead” method, it can simultaneously test a nearly infinite number of drug compounds for a given disease at once. When a match is made, you have your treatment.

The term “nano” refers to a size scale so small, it can’t even be seen with a microscope. A billion nanometers make one meter and about 80,000 nanometers would have about the same width as a human hair.

This research was recently accepted by the Journal of Molecular Recognition. It is expected take years off the normal drug development process. That will likely dramatically cut drug companies’ overhead (an possibly scientists’ jobs), and increase their profit margin, while it may also cut costs to patients in need.

According to a press release from Wake Forest University, the professor who co-created the lab-on-bead method will assist Nanomedia Inc., to further develop how drug companies might use it to boost their efficacy.