The UNICORN Dx project represents a significant step in healthcare innovation, especially within diagnostics, by integrating various biosensing platforms. It originated from a collaboration among multiple institutions involved in ATTRACT phase 1, and it aims to transition from a ‘sick’ care system, primarily focused on restoring damage, to one that prioritizes the maintenance of health in society.
The project is coordinated by Occam.Dx (former ECsens), a spin-off of the University of Twente, in partnership with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Interfluidics, the Johannes Keppler University Linz, Labmicta and the University of Twente.
UNICORN Dx combines Occam.Dx’ particle detection technology with other partners’ capabilities in identifying single molecules such as DNA, to provide accurate diagnoses. This approach not only helps to identify the cause of diseases but also facilitates the selection of appropriate therapies, marking a shift towards preventive healthcare.
Get to know more about it in this interview featuring Pepijn Beekman, coordinator of UNICORN Dx.
What is your personal and career journey so far?
I did my master’s at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. I was in a nanotechnology program. And then after a short research job at the University of Tokyo, I did my PhD in the laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the University of Wageningen also in the Netherlands, and I kept my strong ties to the University of Twente, where in 2019 my company was founded as a spinoff of that university.
What is the project about? And which partners are involved?
The project is about merging different biosensing technologies ECsens has a technology for detecting particles like viruses and bacteria, and different partners like the University of Linz, CNRS in France, and the University of Twente have technologies that can detect species like molecules, DNA for instance, and stuff like that, and those are two aspects that are very important to know because you want to figure out what is causing a disease and also what is a proper therapy. And now we can build a system that answers both of those questions at the same time.
What challenges have you faced so far?
We faced many challenges. For instance, product development is a big task, and it’s difficult to outsource that to a party that you have to build trust with. And of course, in the lab, a thousand technical challenges that you face every day, and you tackle them one by one. And then there’s the clinical validation which is very intricate. There are lots of rules involved and it takes a lot of work.
How would you explain the potential implications of this breakthrough to a non-scientific audience?
Imagine that you have flu-like symptoms, and you report to the doctor, in the first place, it takes them a very long time to figure out that you have a virus infection. And then in the second place, it takes them a very long time to figure out what therapy to prescribe to you. So, we are developing a technology that answers both of those questions at the same time at the doctor’s office within minutes.
How do you think society will benefit from this project?
I think that the impact on the healthcare system will be profound if we can make a system that has more focus on diagnostics. What we have now is a sick care system where we focus on restoring damage that has occurred and what we should have and what this technology will help with is having an actual healthcare system where we focus on healthy people staying healthy.
For more information
Visit the UNICORN Dx project here.
