Nanotechnology against epidemics
Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE Grand Prix
Perhaps you are wondering what is revolutionary about this?
The innovativeness of the development of the nanotechnology incubator Nanobiosym from Boston lies in the very concept: to make complex, time-consuming and resource-intensive medical diagnostics simple and accessible to everyone. The winner of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE strives to ensure that part of the capabilities of professional medical centers are realized at home. And this, in turn, would allow every person who cares about their health to prevent the disease even before the first symptoms appear and seek qualified medical help.
At the moment, the Gene-RADAR technology has found its embodiment in a compact, outwardly remotely resembling a tablet, mobile device. The device has a removable probe with a built-in nanochip, which is used to collect samples of blood, saliva or any other biological fluid. After that, it is enough to return the probe back to the device in order for it to perform a qualitative analysis of the sample at the gene-molecular level and determine the presence of the pathogen in less than an hour. And there is an important point here: the "nanochip application" link is responsible for determining a certain type of pathogen. In other words, (!) for a specific direction of medical diagnostics, their own applications can be created and installed into the device with the same ease with which "Angri Birds" are installed on your tablet.
It is worth noting that the ability to quickly identify pathogens, in turn, suggests that Gene-RADAR technology is excellent for detecting and tracking disease outbreaks. Already, Nanobiosym technology allows you to identify HIV viruses/AIDS with the help of a special application, and this has been confirmed during a number of clinical trials. Also, the winner of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE Grand Prix has now developed another application that detects E. coli and is now working on programs that can detect malaria and tuberculosis.
According to Dr. Anita Goel, president and CEO of Nanobiosym, the company does not create a device for individual medicine, but thanks to cloud technologies, we strive to ensure that highly qualified medical care is as widespread as possible.
"Gene-RADAR technology can be used not only to detect diseases of a particular person. Data uploaded to the cloud from multiple Gene-RADAR devices allows you to identify and control the spread of epidemics in a single region," says Dr. Goel.
According to the project developers, the accuracy of the readings correspond to the "gold standard", and the estimated cost of the device will be hundreds of times less than laboratory equipment. Moreover, the full use of Gene-RADAR does not require running water and electricity to detect the pathogen, which makes it especially useful for implementation in developing countries.
Gene-RADAR in version 1.0 is just the beginning of a long journey both for Nanobiosym itself and for global healthcare in general. In the future, the Boston nanotechnology incubator plans to adapt the technology for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), and in the future – to create a wearable gadget and even diagnostic nanorobots.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru25.12.2013