Startup develops medical device for food safety

With a device as small as half a toaster, a Silicon Valley-based medical device startup aims to rival pricey existing technology that tests for infectious diseases in food, agriculture and the environment.

"Until now, molecular testing such as DNA or RNA, relied on traditional bulky and expensive lab-based equipment," said Yuping Chung, co-founder and senior vice-president of business operations at Anitoa Systems, LLC.

"The outbreak of Ebola, E. coli and African swine fever in the world proves the urgent need for globally affordable tools to rapidly and accurately identify infectious pathogens on site," he said.

His Menlo Park, California-based company develops a bio-optical sensor, which, based on the latest molecular methods, allows precise and timely testing of pathogens on site, even in the field.

The Anitoa sensor achieves a high level of sensitivity, which is a million times higher than the sensors in consumer digital cameras or smartphone cameras, Chung explained.

The technology is originally meant for medical applications, but Chung said they have seen opportunities in new applications in food safety and environmental monitoring, thanks to the technology's low cost and portability.

"Today's molecular testing systems are designed for use in professional labs. It usually takes one or two hours to send the samples from a farm or ranch to the lab, and it will take one day to receive the diagnostic report," said Chung.

Anitoa's device gives a test result within 10 minutes and requires a smaller amount of sample, he said.

"The technology can also be used for water treatment on farms or ranches, so that infectious pathogens can be detected before the used water is discharged into the ocean," he said.

"Strengthened regulations relating to food safety (in China) have brought increasing demand and many opportunities for us," said Chung.

The company, established in 2012, currently has a research and development team in Hangzhou. It has partnered with Zhejiang Nano-systems Institute and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University in China for clinical validation and field deployment.

Partners in Beijing, Shanghai and Zhuhai are developing products using the company's integrated semiconductor chip, the core technology behind the molecular testing device.

"Food safety has been a top concern for the Chinese people. We are confident of the potential of our product, because there are not many choices for similar products on the market right now," said Li Liu, director of system engineering at Anitoa.

Last week, the Chinese government released regulations establishing a system that holds accountable leading officials of local governments across China to ensure food safety within their jurisdictions.

The officials will also be rewarded for major improvements in food safety or preventing food safety accidents from happening.

The new regulations have encouraged Anitoa to develop the China market. The company will mass-produce its device in China this year and hopefully revenues will be "greatly boosted", said Liu.

China not only offers a huge market but also a large opportunity for development, said Roger Royse, a Silicon Valley-based attorney and founder of Royse AgTech Innovation Network, where Anitoa is headquartered.

"China as a country is a quick adapter of new tech, so companies that might struggle to create a market in the US have an opportunity to get quicker market acceptance in China," he said.