PFI:BIC: Nutriphone: A Nanoparticle-based Optical Contrast Assay to Monitor Vitamin and Micro-nutrient Levels Uisng Smartphones

康奈尔大学的这一创新伙伴关系：建设创新能力(PFI：BIC)项目旨在开发一种简单、成本效益高的技术，以使用智能手机获得个人微营养状态。该系统将提供这些信息，使用户能够准确地直接跟踪他们的营养状况，而不是依赖于基于饮食的猜测。“NutriPhone”系统由一个连接到智能手机的硬件配件、接受血液样本并进行检测分析的定制试纸和一个软件应用程序组成。该应用程序操作智能手机，解释试纸结果，以直观的方式向用户显示结果，并在需要时提供治疗建议。个性化的自我报告和自动化数据流预计将产生对健康和饮食的更好认识和自我管理。维生素和微量营养素缺乏导致多种不利的健康状况，包括贫血、软骨病、坏血病、不良妊娠结局、婴儿生长抑制、骨质疏松症和癌症。全世界每年有超过100万人死于维生素A和锌缺乏。在国内，多达一半的髋部骨折患者被认为缺乏维生素D。幸运的是，通过改变饮食或服用补充剂，特别是如果及早发现，许多缺乏症及其症状是可以逆转的。然而，很少有人知道自己的个人微量营养素状况，他们缺乏的潜在后果是什么，或者推荐的治疗方法。掌握营养状况信息可以极大地促进健康生活。除了商业推广，NutriPhone技术还将被整合到康奈尔大学营养科学部在国内和国际上的社区扩展计划中，包括NutritionWorks计划(Nutritionworks.cornell.edu)，以改善和加强能力，特别是在营养和健康方面。独特的基于纳米颗粒的结合反应允许根据特定标记物(例如维生素D)的水平创建光学对比。这项技术允许使用智能手机摄像头测量这种光学对比度，这是每一部智能手机不可或缺的。使用智能手机摄像头的一个重要方面是它极大地降低了配件的成本。目前最先进的方法是用液相色谱质谱(LC MS)测定维生素D。基于纳米颗粒的光学对比分析是一个重大进展。这项研究计划旨在应对在开发NutriPhone的同时面临的科学和工程挑战，以及同样重要的消费者接受和商业模式发展挑战。这是通过在整个计划中在康奈尔进行的一系列用户试验以及由行业合作伙伴安利提供的广泛的产品开发支持、市场研究、消费者焦点小组和商业模式开发支持来完成的。这类技术最具变革性的方面是，它将使定量诊断能够直接部署到消费者身上，而不是通过中介。安利是一个特别有吸引力的行业合作伙伴，因为他们在直接面向消费者的营销和销售方面拥有极其广泛的经验。在项目开始时，合作伙伴是牵头机构康奈尔大学和大公司安利(密歇根州阿达市)。

This Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) project from Cornell University aims to develop a simple, cost-effective technology to obtain personal micronutritional status using a smartphone. This system would provide this information allowing users to accurately track their nutritional status directly rather than relying on guesses based on diet. The "NutriPhone" system is comprised of a hardware accessory that attaches to a smartphone, custom test strips that accept a blood sample and conduct a detection assay, and a software app. The app operates the smartphone, interprets the test strip results, displays the results to the user in an intuitive fashion, and provides therapeutic suggestions, if needed. The personalized self-report and automated data streams are expected to yield greater awareness and self-management of health and diet.Vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies are responsible for a multitude of adverse health conditions, including anemia, rickets, scurvy, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infant growth inhibition, osteoporosis, and cancer. Worldwide, over 1,000,000 people die every year from vitamin A and zinc deficiencies alone. Domestically, as many as half of patients with hip fractures are thought to be vitamin D deficient. Fortunately, many deficiencies and their symptoms are reversible through changes in diet or by taking supplements, particularly if detected early. Very few people, however, have information as to their own personal micronutrient status, what the potential outcomes of their deficiencies are, or the recommended treatments. Having nutritional status information could significantly enable healthier living. In addition to commercial outreach, NutriPhone technology will be integrated into Cornell's Division of Nutritional Sciences' community extension programs both domestically and internationally, including the NutritionWorks program (nutritionworks.cornell.edu), to improve and strengthen capacity, particularly around nutrition and health.A unique nanoparticle-based binding reaction allows the creation of an optical contrast depending on the level of the particular marker (e.g., vitamin D). The technology allows the measurement of this optical contrast using the smartphone camera, which is integral to every smartphone. Among the important aspects of this use of the smartphone camera is that it dramatically reduces the cost of the accessory. The state of the art currently is to use liquid chromatograph mass spectrometry (LCMS) to measure vitamin D. A nanoparticle-based optical contrast assay is a major advancement. The research program is structured to address the scientific and engineering challenges with the development of the NutriPhone in parallel with the equally important consumer uptake and business model development challenges. This is done through a series of user trials that will be conducted throughout the program at Cornell and extensive product development support, market research, consumer focus groups, and business model development support provided by the industrial partner, Amway. The most transformative aspect of this type of technology is that it will enable quantitative diagnostics to be deployed directly to the consumer rather than through an intermediary. Amway represents a particularly appealing industrial partner to enable this as they have extremely broad experience in direct-to-consumer marketing and sales.At the inception of the project, the partners are the lead institution, Cornell University, and a large company, Amway (Ada, MI).