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The Entrepreneur's Vision Of Transforming Diagnostics Is Near

This article is more than 8 years old.

Despite the recent controversy with Theranos, transformative changes in health care diagnostics are here to stay. The entrepreneur’s vision for radically improved solutions is out of the genie's lamp, and consumerized, affordable, and convenient diagnostics will soon be an ongoing part of millions of people’s health and wellness lifestyle.

Over the past few weeks, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been criticized for missteps and misrepresentations about blood diagnostic technology produced by her company. Whether or not these allegations turn out to be true, the Theranos story should not distract investors and the industry from the real prize: consumer-friendly blood diagnostics, anyone can afford and get access to, so people can better monitor and improve their health.

Whether Theranos embraces transparency and ends up leading this transformation, or becomes another pioneer with an arrow in their back, remains to be seen. But the fact is, the field of blood diagnostics is in the midst a revolution. As blood diagnostic technology rapidly advances, one of the biggest innovations is with user experience - bringing minimally invasive diagnostics to your pharmacy, your home, your office and your smart phone.

In five years time, frequent (and for some, real ­time) diagnostic blood tests will be an integral part of managing one’s health. Without ever stepping foot into a clinic, people will be able to safely and accurately monitor lipid parameters and track for certain biomarkers of disease, all from the comfort of home. Even more exciting is what happens when these tests become truly affordable, accessible anywhere, and analyzed by intelligent monitors. Some obvious opportunities: early detection of disease, incremental behavior change, and hopefully longer healthier lives.

Interestingly, many doctors still question the value of tracking personal biometrics with semi-regular blood diagnostics, or the need for any change to the status quo.

Last spring, investor Mark Cuban rattled off his now­ famous tweets voicing support of quarterly blood tests, and in doing so, he unleashed a swarm of commentators who accused the entrepreneur of not being qualified to advocate the value of more diagnostic data and being out of touch on issues like cost. [Disclosure: Cuban is an investor in my company, StartUp Health.]

While clearly more R&D, transparent data, and scientific validation is needed for many of the emerging diagnostic solutions to be ready for prime time, I would argue that the friction-filled early cycles of this transformation (as evidenced by the Theranos story and Cuban backlash from many doctors) is creating essential ingredients for progress to occur: market feedback, awareness, and an interest in data transparency.

In fact, we are only in the early innings of this innovation cycle and the work to date by early players like Theranos are helping to change the paradigm (or at least create an awareness of the need). What’s most exciting is that there is a generation of other entrepreneurs and scientists now devoted to the concept of consumer-friendly blood monitoring for persistent diagnostics. These upstart companies may not have raised hundreds of millions yet, but they have technologically-sound products in development that support the notion that fast, affordable and accessible blood diagnostics are around the corner.

Accel Diagnostics is one example. (You likely haven’t heard of them yet as their solution is still going through trials and the FDA). Their credit card sized device, which can be developed for only a few dollars, allows virtually anyone, anywhere to perform medical diagnostics for certain biomarkers and use an app to instantly self-analyze your drop of blood to monitor things like heart failure. Others, like Scanadu’s Scout product hope to win approval for urinalysis and blood work. [Disclosure: Accel Diagnostics is a StartUp Health company].

In the case of Mark Cuban’s interest in ongoing diagnostics, the entrepreneur's vision is hardly a pipe dream. Entrepreneurial innovators including quantified selfers, patients, and many health professionals have been focusing on data ­driven health for years. As issues like user experience, technology, cost and business models continue to be redesigned by entrepreneurs and supported by investors focused on inventing new solutions, it’s likely that there will be “revolutionary diagnostics” sooner than you think.