UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Atoptix LLC has been selected as a finalist in the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, a global competition to develop breakthrough medical sensing technologies that will ultimately enable faster diagnoses and easier personal health monitoring.
Atoptix’s smartphone-based optical spectroscopic sensor enables tracking and monitoring of health conditions, effectively bringing “the lab to the patient.” This innovative, non-invasive technology is being developed to accurately detect blood hemoglobin and oxygen levels under the skin, both of which are critical for wellness monitoring and the early detection of diseases, including anemia, cancer and other ailments.
The Atoptix health sensor can provide rapid results to the patient or doctor using cloud-based analytical software, without the use of a needle or a finger pierce. The patent-pending technology offers a high-performance, low-cost design in a compact package, which can improve access to health care services in low-resource clinics or remote locations.
The Atoptix team, comprised of Chief Executive Officer Perry Edwards and Chief Technical Officer Zhiwen Liu, is one of 11 finalists competing for a share of a $2.25 million purse. Edwards earned his doctoral degree in electrical engineering; Liu is a professor of electrical engineering. Their technology was originally developed in Liu’s laboratory at Penn State, and the company was founded to rapidly bring the smartphone health sensor to market.
“Atoptix was formed to turn the exciting sensor technology developed by researchers at Penn State into solutions that can have a meaningful and marketable impact outside of the laboratory,” said Edwards. “As such, we are honored to be named a finalist in such a prestigious competition.”
The final phase of the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE includes an online voting campaign accounting for 10 percent of a team’s overall score, with the remainder evaluated by a judging panel comprised of digital health and medical industry experts. Videos of the finalist teams and their breakthrough technologies can be viewed and voted through Oct. 30 at http://www.nokiasensingxchallengevoting.org.
For more information on Atoptix, visit www.atoptix.com.
For more information about the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, visit http://sensing.xprize.org.