ENRICHING SOCIETY
An entire lab in the palm of your hand .
BY DEBORAH JUDE
IF GOOD THINGS come in small packages , then the latest Triton innovation is sure to make an impact — smaller than a toaster and just as unassuming , this little gray box is poised to revolutionize lab work in public health .
The “ Search ” is the debut medical device from FluxErgy , a medical diagnostics company founded by Tej Patel ’ 10 , MS ’ 12 , and Ryan Revilla ’ 10 , two aerospace engineering alumni who met while involved in Triton Racing , a student group that builds racecars from scratch .
The pair parlayed that experience to working on high-end racecars after graduation , yet both knew they wanted to make more of a difference . Racecars may seem a world apart from healthcare , but they applied the same engineering principles of improving systems and design to solve a problem that could help people the world over .
While Patel ’ s wife ( alumna Priya Bhat Patel ’ 10 ) was working on her master ’ s in public health , he noticed a massive inefficiency in that industry .
“ Currently , there is enormous infrastructure required for laboratory testing — many complicated steps and a number of expensive machines needed to conduct even just a typical set of tests ,” says Patel . “ Because we came into this as engineers , we took a very different approach , asking ourselves , ‘ Do we really need to do it like this ?’”
He and Revilla saw a better way to perform medical assays — using one device that could perform a wide variety of tests , in the same way one video game console can play multiple games . They set out to build a general-purpose device that uses programmed test cards that tell the machine what kind of test to run .
“ We spent about a year making prototypes ,” says Patel . “ Most were made in Ryan ’ s garage or in my kitchen .”
From those humble beginnings came a palm-sized laboratory that can perform a variety of optical and electrical measurements according to a function-specific test card . Adaptations to the test cards eliminate the need for multiple machines
A GROWING COMPANY Founded by alumni , FluxErgy ’ s Triton ranks include Eric Mendonsa ’ 15 , Roy Helmsley ’ 10 , Tej Patel ’ 10 , MS ’ 12 ; Ryan Revilla ’ 10 and Farzad Izadi Kharazi ’ 11
to conduct typical laboratory analyses .
The result is ideal for point-of-care use and especially useful in resource-limited settings such as Africa or India , where test turnaround times can take upward of 50 days and can let diseases progress without treatment .
FluxErgy ’ s “ Search ” device is just finishing its beta program , yet the team has already hired six more Tritons to help the company make an impact .
“ UC San Diego ’ s rigorous curriculum and research focus produces graduates that are already proficient at what they do ,” says Patel . “ That ’ s why we hire Tritons .”
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