Inventing is better than selling
In the USA, Russian express tests for the diagnosis of brain diseases were presented
Olga Denisova, RIA Novosti
A unique development of Russian specialists – ready-made rapid tests to determine the risk of ischemic stroke and diagnosis of brain damage – was first presented in the United States. The author of the project – DRD company from the Republic of Buryatia and nine other residents of the Skolkovo Foundation took part in the TechCrunch innovation exhibition in New York.
Donate blood for a stroke
A hemotest the size of an ordinary pack of medications in a matter of minutes determines biomarkers of brain damage in the blood taken from the patient's finger. Quick tests to determine the risk of stroke or indications of the severity of concussion, according to the developers, are indispensable for ambulance crews, polyclinics, emergency departments of hospitals, trauma centers, sports schools, and in general in neurosurgery, neurology, anesthesiology.
Recognized specialists in Russia and abroad have been working on the prototype of the pocket laboratory for several years. The lead developer was Svetlana Dambinova, professor at Pavlov St. Petersburg Medical University and Dekalb Medical Center in Atlanta.
"We have already started preparatory work in Russia. We hope to enter clinical trials in the country this year in order to complete the process by the end of 2018," CEO of the company Anjey Zhimbiev told RIA Novosti.
At the same time, he is working with long-time American partner Robert Rinehart to pass the relevant regulatory procedures of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Reinhart is convinced that the US market needs a Russian express test. "Ten years ago, it saved my life," he admits. Reinhart then tested one of the prototypes of the test on himself, family and friends, which allowed him to perform heart surgery on time.
"You need at least $10 million to pass clinical trials and get permission from the FDA in the United States," he says. Obtaining FDA approval, in fact, gives the "green light" for the widespread use of tests.
Among other projects presented at the exhibition are the indoor navigation system for robotic equipment sold in 30 countries, with an accuracy of up to 2 cm from Marvelmind Robotics by Maxim Tretyakov, a Moscow radio engineer; a program already available in mobile application stores that creates a 3D model based on photography from the Vision Labs group; and other startups working in the field of biotechnology and robotic systems.
We invent better than we sell
For the implementation of projects and further development, the participating companies of the conference need to attract from 1 to 10 million dollars of investments, Vasily Belov, Senior Vice President for Innovation of the Skolkovo Foundation, told RIA Novosti. He notes that with the reduction of foreign investment in Russia over the past three years, the inflow of funds from private sources to the fund's projects is increasing by more than 50 percent per year. "First of all, this is due, of course, to the fact that the number of residents of Skolkovo is growing, and they are growing up," says Belov.
In the global competition of the IT sphere, Russian specialists and companies are in demand in information security, machine learning, artificial vision, and other areas - where the role of mathematics and algorithms is high.
"Russia is historically strong here. The American market knows these industries and is quite open–minded about the idea of Russian companies entering the market in these areas," says Belov. But in e-commerce, social marketing, and social networks, the specialists of the Russian school have no significant success. "We have always been able to count and invent better than to sell later," explains the representative of the fund.
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18.05.2017