At the 3rd International Conference on Deficiency of Adenosine Deaminase 2 (DADA2), the CEO of iXensor, Dr. Carson Chen, speaks about XLab and its applications in realizing remote collaboration of developing accessible and affordable DADA2 diagnostic test with test strip developers across the globe.
Dr. Carson Chen encountered the CEO of DADA2 Foundation, Dr. Chip Chambers, during the Eisenhower Fellowships Program. The serendipity led iXensor to understand the challenges of diagnosing rare diseases such as the Deficiency of Adenosine Deaminase 2 (DADA2) recently discovered in 2014. DADA2 is a rare genetic disorder that involves inflammation. Its symptoms vary depending on how severe the inflammation is and where it happens in the body. Continuous inflammation can cause fevers, skin discolorations, and recurring strokes.
The current standard method of diagnosis is the whole genome sequencing, which is costly and time-consuming. While there are effective ways to manage the disease (e.g., TNF inhibitor), many of DADA2 patients might leave undiagnosed. iXensor envisions developing a rapid DADA2 diagnostic test via PixoTech® XLab – the remote co-development platform with test strip partners. Based on the preliminary feasibility study, iXensor has been able to identify the essential composition of immunoassay in the hope to develop a computer vision enabled rapid test solution for DADA2 that yields test result in 30 minutes. Dr. Chambers expressed, “It will be a game-changer to measure the ADA2 enzyme level at the point of the care, let’s get the entire DADA2 community know how we can help!”
Photo Credit: iXensor
In the past few months, amid the pandemic, PixoTech® XLab has accelerated the multinational project of COVID-19 antigen test strip development with worldwide partners. Instead of receiving their test strip prototypes for testing in iXensor’s lab, iXensor has been dispatching the XLab pre-embedded PixoTest POCT analyzers to co-development partners (strip manufacturers). These analyzers provide an accurate and efficient means to analyze results. They seamlessly transfer result images to the cloud for machine learning-enabled analysis. iXensor’s algorithm team then remotely models and tailors the algorithms to deliver clinical-grade accuracy. Dr. Carson Chen said, “I believe that the same technology can be applied to accelerate the development of the new testing solutions and benefit people with DADA2 and other life-threatening diseases before onset.”