Gentag's Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) Patent for Diagnostics with Cell Phones Issues

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gentag, Inc. is pleased to announce the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 9,470,699. This is the company's seventy-sixth issued patent in the area of diagnostics with cell phones. This new patent, which covers both advanced biomarker and DNA-level detection with smartphone-based diagnostics, further enhances the company's already significant intellectual property holdings of near field communication (NFC) mobile phone sensor technologies, including patents on wearable NFC diagnostic skin patches, immunoassays, lab-on-a-chip (LOC), printable e-noses and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

The new patent covers quantitative diagnostic tests that could be carried out anywhere – no lab, or costly lab work, needed – using NFC-enabled mobile phones. With LOC technology, combined with other Gentag intellectual properties, multiple diagnostic tests could be possible within minutes using a small blood or urine sample. The new Gentag patent combines NFC, LOC, sensors and microfluidics, enabling virtually any biomarker or DNA test to be conducted with an NFC mobile phone. Biomarkers, tiny biological "signature" molecules, indicate the presence of specific proteins, diseases or medical conditions, including cancer.

This wireless platform technology, which can be tailored to measure almost any protein, biomarker or DNA, is disposable. Examples of potential applications include: on-the-spot detection of a medical condition, companion diagnostics for problematic drug interactions, or the detection of specific allergens in foods. The technology could further be used for drug mixing and delivery, rapid lab tests, forensics and a multiplicity of applications where minuscule amounts of fluids and chemistries need to be mixed and controlled with precision. The use of NFC and cell phones ensures that the technology could become widely available to anyone.

Because of its low cost and ease of use, the technology could revolutionize diagnostics. "We believe that the combination of the LOC technology with NFC sensors and proprietary chemistries will allow accurate diagnostic testing to become available to anyone with access to a cell phone," stated Dr. John P. Peeters, Gentag's founder and Chief Executive.

Gentag's early NFC patents, filed in 2003 and 2004, address the uses of disposable NFC sensor devices, including wearable skin patches, and associated NFC readers in devices such as mobile phones. The new allowance complements the previously announced NFC diagnostic skin patch, immunoassay and e-nose patents.

The technology is currently available for licensing.  For more information, please contact Scott Chesky in New York at 646-937-6550 or [email protected].

About Gentag

Gentag is pioneering the use of disposable, ultrathin wearable and immunoassay biosensors that can be read with NFC-enabled devices, which will make healthcare and consumer diagnostics more affordable and accessible to all worldwide. The company's groundbreaking work will revolutionize not only medical applications, but also location-based services and the detection of environmental threats in food, homes and workplaces everywhere. Gentag's first wireless sensor network patent was filed in 1997. All Gentag NFC patents are held by Altivera, LLC, a Maryland company operated by Gentag and owned by its shareholders.

Gentag's powerful IP and partnerships are at work for a smarter, more connected world.   

For more information, visit http://gentag.com/ and follow Gentag on Twitter (@gentagInc).

SOURCE Gentag, Inc.

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