Shaunak would prick his finger and milk a few drops of blood from it. Then he would transfer the blood to a white plastic cartridge the size of a credit card. The cartridge would slot into a rectangular box the size of a toaster. The box was called a reader. It extracted a data signal from the cartridge and beamed it wirelessly to a server that analyzed the data and beamed back a result. When Shaunak demonstrated the system to investors, he pointed them to a computer screen that showed the blood flowing through the cartridge inside the reader …as long as the system showed a result, [the finance guy] was happy. And it always did.”
-- Narration (Section 1, Prologue)

Importance: The first part of the quote summarizes the essential elements of the blood extraction and testing process envisioned by Elizabeth and marketed to Theranos investors, to journalists, and to the public. Over time, as...