Defense lawyers say Holmes believed the company could screen for hundreds of diseases with just a finger prick of blood, a pledge that attracted millions of dollars in investment.

Holmes and her former business partner and ex-boyfriend, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, have pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding investors and patients of the blood-testing company Theranos.

Newly released documents reveal how the founder of the biomedical startup intends to defend herself at a federal fraud trial starting next week.