Oct 4 2013
Nanobiosym Health RADAR, a Boston-based research incubator institute led by Dr. Anita Goel, was awarded the $525,000 Grand Prize in the first competition of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE for their Gene-RADAR® sensing technology that will transform the way health care is delivered by enabling personalized diagnostic testing.
Dr. Anita Goel, team leader for Nanobiosym Health RADAR, demonstrates her team's winning technology in the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE at Health 2.0.
The Gene-RADAR platform analyzes a drop of blood, saliva or other body fluid placed on a nanochip and inserted into a mobile device, which then detects the presence or absence of a disease's pathogen in less than an hour, with the same accuracy available only in a diagnostic lab. The technology was developed to be easy-to-use and does not require overhead infrastructure, such as electricity or running water, which can lead to widespread adoption by developing countries.
Nanobiosym has already demonstrated custom applications for E. coli and HIV/AIDS with potential applications across the entire spectrum of health care including diagnosis, monitoring, drug development, companion diagnostics, and personalized nanomedicine.
"We're thrilled that the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE helped provide a platform for Nanobiosym and the other competing teams to demonstrate their exciting technologies," said Robert K. Weiss, vice chairman and president, XPRIZE. "The future of digital medical technology illuminated by Nanobiosym exemplifies the goal of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE -- to advance innovative sensing technologies that will help transform health care into a 'smart,' highly personalized and instantly accessible system."
Nanobiosym was selected from a pool of 26 competing teams from seven countries. The 12 finalist teams demonstrated the sensing capabilities of their technologies to a judging panel comprised of thought leaders and industry experts who have cross-functional and relevant expertise in sensing and mobile health technologies. A percentage of the final score was crowdsourced via an attendee voting mechanism at the Health 2.0 Fall Conference in Silicon Valley, Calif.
"Congratulations to Nanobiosym and all of the teams who competed in the first competition of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE," said Henry Tirri, chief technology officer and executive vice president, Nokia. "The technologies demonstrated by the teams show the potential for sensors to bring greater efficiency, reliability and affordability to the health care system. We are taking a significant step towards creating an ecosystem of innovative technologies that will radically change the way people understand their state of health."
Teams were evaluated for their distinction in the areas of accuracy and consistency, demonstration quality, technical innovation, human factors, market opportunity, originality, and user experience. In addition to the Grand Prize, five Distinguished Prizes, each valued at $120,000, were awarded to Owlstone, InSilixa, Silcon BioDevices, Elfi-Tech and MoboSens for additional achievements in final round judging.
The Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE consists of two separate and consecutive competitions to advance innovative sensing technologies that capture meaningful data about a consumer's health and surrounding environment. Registration for the second competition will close on February 12, 2014, with more information available at: nokiasensingxchallenge.org.