Can your smartphone screen for cancer?

Managing your health could soon be as easy as using your smartphone along with a diagnostic tool you buy at the pharmacy.

That’s the vision for Nicoya Lifesciences, a company launched by a University of Waterloo graduate who developed a unique home diagnostic tool that may one day help screen for cancer, monitor your heart and diagnose infectious diseases.

“This is all about the consumerization of health care. In the long term, this could mean earlier diagnosis of diseases, better monitoring of chronic diseases, and better therapy management, all of which improve quality of life, patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs,” says Ryan Denomme, chief executive officer, Nicoya Lifesciences.

A newly-developed prototype is the first step in using Nicoya’s technology with a smartphone application, making it easier to quickly track, analyze, and send data gathered at home to a doctor using the Internet.

Nanotechnology graduate

“The world is moving toward more personalized and connected healthcare solutions.  Consumers want to take advantage of the latest technology and become more active in managing their health,” says Denomme.

Nicoya’s lab-on-a-chip technology began as a fourth-year nanotechnology engineering project and was further developed during Denomme’s master’s thesis at Waterloo. Focusing his research on healthcare applications, Denomme developed novel nanosensor technology that analyzes a drop of blood or saliva for important biomarkers.

Healthcare savings

At triple the sensitivity and a tenth of the cost of tests currently used in hospitals, the results from Nicoya’s nanosensor technology provides essential health information to people and their doctors. The ability to perform healthcare screening tests at home using a low-cost tool that can be purchased in a grocery store or pharmacy will speed up diagnosis and treatment.

Federal government funding

Nicoya Lifesciences was propelled into operation after earning a $60,000 Scientists and Engineers in Business Fellowship that provided the funds needed to hire staff, set up an office, further the technology, and generate additional funding. The fellowship is a University of Waterloo program supported by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) open to promising entrepreneurs who want to commercialize their innovations and start high-tech businesses.

Since then, Denomme placed second out of 50 companies at the 2013 SPIE Phototonics West Startup Challenge in San Francisco. He now has four full-time employees and two co-op students located at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo, and continues to hire staff as his company grows.