June 13, 2018

...AND CHEAPER...:

"Like Theranos, but it works"-health startup Genalyte proves its worth (RINA RAPHAEL, 6/12/18, Fast Company)

Last month, I had my blood work requested, tested, and analyzed-in less time than it takes to get a manicure.

My medical results, which took about 15 minutes, were courtesy of diagnostics startup Genalyte, which spent the last decade perfecting a portable lab that can run 62 tests with just several drops of blood. Dubbed the Maverick Detection System, the mini-fridge-sized device uses microchip technology to analyze multiple antibodies and other proteins. It digitizes the samples and sends them to a cloud-based laboratory for review, sending results to the physician in real time.

I tested out the process at the company's headquarters in San Diego. The "lab" was composed of a chair, the 15-inch wide Maverick perched on a rollaway cart (dubbed the Merlin), and a kind nurse who promised she would not tell me when she inserted the needle in my arm. Less than one vial of blood was extracted.

A short time later, Dr. Rick Hockett, the pathologist who serves as Genalyte's chief medical officer, sat me down for a brief overview of the results. I was relieved to discover that I did not have any wheat sensitivities-and therefore free to continue on my glutenous path of destruction.

"Everything is within normal limits," Hockett says. "Boringly normal, as I tell most people."

It was quick, easy, and, for once, an efficient medical experience. The results matched recent testing from a traditional lab.

Posted by at June 13, 2018 4:25 AM

  

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