I-Corps: Portable Autonomous Biomarker Sampling Technology (PABST)

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

Chemistry in our bodies is the next frontier for medical diagnostics and testing. Current medical testing of patients for their health is dominated by infrequent testing out of the home (i.e. at the hospital or doctor's office). This under-sampling paradigm which has dominated healthcare diagnostics has led to a persistent bias in fully understanding patient wellness. A patient "weather report" cannot be done without sufficient knowledge of the changes of the patient's internal chemistry and how that chemistry is changing due to environmental stress, drug therapy or other treatments on a patient after they leave the hospital. Testing at the doctor's office or clinic yields minimal insight into variability of a patient throughout the day or over the week. This I-Corps team has devised a Portable Biomarker Autonomous Sampling Technology that can be attached to a toilet to create an intelligent non-invasive sampling system for urine biomarkers in the home. The biomarkers captured from urine over the course of some prescribed period are shipped to a lab for analytical testing and the biochemical history of the patient can be then understood to a level of detail never before allowed in the healthcare industry. Doctors will have a powerful tool to chart a person's physical well-being. The technology was originally developed for ocean observations to gain understanding of the spatial and temporal change of the chemistry and biology of the oceans and now can be applied to measuring human health changes and responses. The goal of the project is to advance both the product and the business potential of the proposed diagnostic innovation which is a portable biomarker robotic sampler for in-the-home use for biomarker sampling in urine. Samples from the home can be coupled to clinical laboratory-based biomarker testing to allow for high frequency, precision medicine and personal observations of a patient for the first time. An expected outcome of this project is the customer-discovery guided development of a commercialization plan for the Biomarker Sampler products and services. The I-Corps team expects to also include collaborative demonstrations using the automation system with potential customers, third party vendors, and outside manufacturers to validate and enhance the effectiveness of the current sampler design. Engineering design changes will occur based on customer feedback and demo-testing results. In parallel, the team will research the current and future markets for the in-home automation system, its distribution channels, and potential partnership opportunities. Based on the outcomes of the team's development, the team will determine the appropriate business strategy to move the automation system to market. At the end of the project, the team expects to have a scalable automation core that effectively enables automated quantitative sampling of key biomarkers ready for analysis in the laboratory to allow for unique, industry changing "patient weather" reporting.