SELFA Inc., a health care technology company cofounded and based on research by Chi On Chui, an associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, in August won a $1.65 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track Award from the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
SELFA (Semiconductor Electronic Label-Free Assay) is developing an in vitro diagnostic platform that has the potential for making a transformational impact in clinical diagnostics. Specifically, the platform brings laboratory-quality biomolecular assays to point-of-care settings – such as clinics, ambulances or homes – for rapid diagnosis of heart attacks, acute infections and many other diseases. Using only a drop of blood, precise results will be available on-the-spot rather than having to wait hours to receive lab results.
The first SELFA product launch will be a cardiac troponin assay, a test used millions of times a year for the detection of myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks, in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome.
“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and symptoms of ischemic heart disease drive countless patients to seek admittance to emergency rooms,” Chui said. “Our technology can improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis of this life-threatening illness. It can also dramatically reduce the cost of care and ease the problem of emergency room overcrowding.”
Chui established SELFA in 2013 with former post-doctoral researcher Kyeoong-Sik Shin and engineering entrepreneur Ira Deyhimy. The founders worked with the UCLA Engineering Institute for Technology Advancement (ITA), the school’s start-up incubator, to secure intellectual property based on the research and to form the company.
“The SBIR grant demonstrates that SELFA is on the way to developing technology that could benefit millions of people,” said Dwight Streit, director of ITA and the chair of the UCLA Materials Science and Engineering Department. “SELFA is just one example of how ITA and UCLA Engineering support entrepreneurial faculty and the university as a whole by helping to bring IP-protected innovations to the marketplace.”
