CytoScale Diagnostics, LLC is an in vitro diagnostics based on technology from UCLA. The company has two primary products. The first is a device capable of capturing live Circulating Tumor Cell (CTCs) from peripheral blood. CTCs are the cells that break off a tumor, enter the blood stream, and spread cancer throughout the body. The second, called Microfluidic Imaging Cytometry (MIC), is a device capable of analyzing growth signaling pathways of every single cell in sample of one-thousand cells. Cancer is often the result of a genetic mutation that alters one or more proteins in growth signaling pathways and many drugs have been developed to target these specific mutations. MIC has the ability to detect where the pathway is altered and use this information to personalize each patient’s therapy. Previously, this type of data could only be obtained with flow cytometry from large samples, requiring surgical biopsy. MIC enables pathway analysis from a less-invasive needle biopsy.

Aneeve wins SBIR $750K Grant. See MIT Technology Review, Jan 2010.

The company uses carbon nanotube circuit printing technology and novel surface chemistry to create disposable POC hormone testing devices similar to blood glucose monitors. The initial targets are in post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) markets. The company is part of the California Nano-Science Institute (CNSI) Incubator located at UCLA.

FloVision^MD is a medical device manufacturer developing an imaging flow microscope platform. The company is currently focused on products for the hematology market. FloVision^MD’s proprietary technology utilizes an ultrafast camera and advanced image processing hardware to capture and identify digital images of every cell in a typical blood sample. This technology will reduce labor costs of hospitals and diagnostic labs by decreasing the number of samples which need to be reviewed under a microscope, i.e. manual reviews, and by reducing the time it takes to conduct a review.

Molecular Morse Code

Molecular Morse Code is developing devices which are capable of measuring gene expression levels of a single cell without using the traditional replication process (PCR). Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs) actually “feel” for the mRNA strands attached to a medium, and based on overall length and known cut intervals, the devices can determine mRNA genes being expressed quantitatively.