i-calQ's Smartphone-Based Diagnostic Testing Makes Finals of Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE

Innovative sensing technology makes essential diagnostic tests available

anywhere, anytime… using a smartphone.

A new technology developed by award-winning inventor Dr. Joel Ehrenkranz and the team at i-calQ has just received international recognition by a panel of industry experts as one of 12 finalists in the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE (a new XPRIZE competition focused on health sensors).

How i-calQ is changing mHealth… for the better

i-calQ’s portability will change the face of public health, making it possible to provide critical diagnostic testing in third world countries, remote rural areas, and underdeveloped areas where poverty reduces access to doctors.

i-calQ performs essential diagnostic tests on a smartphone that are normally done in a medical laboratory. A drop of blood or saliva is collected and then analyzed using the smartphone’s camera lens. Unlike traditional lab tests, which often take days, the results of the i-calQ testing are available in minutes. Physicians and consumers can easily perform the tests, and when the test is complete, the results can be immediately added to the patient’s digital medical record via Internet.

Another groundbreaking aspect of the i-calQ technology is the inclusion of an expert diagnostic system. The i-calQ software analyzes the test results with medical decision support algorithms to interpret the results and recommend additional tests or treatment. 

Diagnostic testing anywhere, anytime

“We’re so excited about being named a finalist in the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE,” says Pamela Turbeville, co-founder and CEO of i-calQ.  “Some of the most innovative companies in the world are participating, all with the goal of delivering better, more affordable healthcare to consumers everywhere. The fact that our smartphone-based concept for essential diagnostic testing is recognized as one of the 12 best entries validates our work and increases our dedication to making i-calQ a universal tool for medical professionals and consumers.”

About XPRIZE

Founded in 1995, XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the leading organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. XPRIZE conducts competitions in five Prize Groups: Education; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $10 million Archon Genomics XPRIZE presented by Express Scripts, the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, and the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE. For more information, go to www.xprize.org. 

About i-calQ

During his medical fieldwork during the 2007 Ebola epidemic, Dr. Joel Ehrenkranz saw the urgent need for mobile diagnostic devices. He realized that smartphones were the future of medicine, and would eventually be the ideal medical tools for “comprehensive disease management.” He envisioned a smartphone that could perform quantitative, lab-quality testing, and then execute medical decision support algorithms to help interpret the test results. As a result of that insight, Dr. Ehrenkranz co-founded i-calQ in 2011 to develop smartphone technologies for integrated point-of-care testing and testing result analysis.

In 2013, i-calQ launched its first three diagnostic projects: 1) thyroid disease management based on point-of-care TSH measurement, 2) stress management based on salivary cortisol measurement, and 3) antenatal healthcare management using point-of-care HIV, syphilis, glucose, blood pressure, hemoglobin, and urinary albumin measurements.

mHealth Predicted To Help 40 million patients in Brazil and Mexico

It's been reported that over 40 million additional patients could be treated in Brazil and Mexico alone in 2017 through the use of mHealth-related services.

"The implementation of mHealth services in Brazil and Mexico is expected to extend healthcare to 28.4 million additional patients in Brazil and 15.5 million patients in Mexico in 2017; as well as quip around 16 million citizens to improve their lifestyle and reduce the impact of chronic diseases, prolonging lives'" the GSMA report states (www.gsma.com).


It's also estimated that the cost savings of mHealth implementation could save the two countires a total of $17.9 billion. Even better, mHealth will create 200,000 jobs as its deployed.

According to GSMA, the four main barriers that will limit the adoption of mHealth across Latin America include regulatory, economic structure and technology-related obstacles.

Like many parts of the world, the healthcare in Brazil and Mexico focus on individual treatment and drug therapy rather than preventive medicine and patient monitoring.

"The fragmentation of healthcare systems in Brazil and Mexico restricts the sharing of information and alignment of processes, preventing mHealth from scaling effectively. The lack of interoperability and standardization of mHealth services can localize the implementation, limiting the scalability of mHealth."

Biohacking Gains Strength

If you haven’t heard of ‘biohacking’ you’re not enough of a nerd. But chances are in the coming months you’ll start seeing the word more frequently. In fact, biohacking may become an important player in the future of personal healthcare and is already pushing the use of biometric testing devices.

Based on the philosophy of personal responsibility, biohacking is a new approach to health and wellness that includes self-study and the use of various analog and digital devices to measure, monitor and tweak important health parameters. Biohackers collect data about themselves… anything from calories to salt intake, exercise and blood pressure to cortisol levels and daily supplement intake.

According to Glen Martin of the San Francisco Chronicle, biohacking refers to “managing one's own biology using a combination of medical, nutritional and electronic techniques.” His article, Biohackers' mining their own bodies' data, is a good place to begin learning about the trend http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Biohackers-mining-their-own-bodies-data-3668230.php.

Here’s the theory: measure yourself, because what we measure improves.

As Martin’s article says, we're now capturing more data on what it means to be a human being than at any time in history and what we're learning isn't just telling is what we are. It's telling us what we can be."