Background of the startup

Food Allergy

More than 33 million Americans (close to 10% of the US population), both children and adults, suffer from food allergies.
Current in vitro food allergy diagnostic tests are centralized laboratory IgE test that only displays <86% diagnostic accuracy due to the relatively high cross-reactivity associated with the high false diagnosis. Such deficiency render them merely as the confirmatory, but not the diagnostic, methods for food allergy diagnosis.
Thus the definitive diagnosis of food allergy remains relying on Oral Food Challenge (OFC). OFC is a high-risk, expensive and resource-intensive medical procedure because they require close supervision in well-equipped medical facilities.
OFC is not routinely accessible to large portion of food allergic patients, as OFC can not be performed in general laboratories, small hospitals, clinics, Doctor’s office, school, fields, etc. Thus, the food allergy diagnosis remains unclear until the individual experiences an accident allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, which are frequently severe and sometimes fetal.
Food allergy diagnostics with high accuracy, rapidity, convenience, low-cost and POC features are highly sought and urgently needed in the precision medicine era.

Environmental Allergies and Allergic Asthmas

Among 25 million of American asthmatics, ~75% (~90% of children and 50% of adults) of the 25 million of American are IgE-mediated allergic asthmas.
The burden of asthma in the US falls disproportionately on ethnic minority groups as they have the highest asthma rates, deaths, and hospitalizations.
The racial gaps in asthma outcomes have not substantially improved during last 15 years despite of advances in health care improvement and policy support, minority groups continue to bear disproportionate hardship in managing asthmas.
Accurate determination of EA-specific IgE triggering allergic asthmas in a POCT fashion with easy access and low-cost would greatly facilitate management and treatment of allergic asthmatics.