Australia-based Brainchip Research Institute has entered into a research collaboration with Biotome, which is developing high-precision antibody tests for infections.
BrainChip is a provider of ultra-low power high-performance artificial intelligence technology and is currently producing an advanced neuromorphic processor.
Its Akida neuromorphic processor chip will be used to depict sensor responses and determine which responses are the most representative for antibodies that are protective.
The collaboration is aimed at creating a handheld device that leverages nanomaterial-based sensors in combination with the Akida chip to deliver accurate results within seconds.
BrainChip interim CEO Peter van der Made said: “The use of the Akida neuromorphic processor in antibody detection and other medical diagnostic tools is a testimony to our efforts to help in the development of beneficial Artificial Intelligence applications around our chip.
“Our focus is the Akida neuromorphic processor, and we are a silicon manufacturer, but we are assisting our clients in bringing advanced AI products to market.”
The Akida processor is capable of instantly learning new sensory data patterns and classifying the results in milliseconds, using power in the microwatts range.
BrainChip said that its processor enables the use of advanced diagnostic equipment operating on small batteries even in remote locations, which the existing technologies are not capable of.
The Akida (NSoC) and intellectual property is designed for use in applications such as smart home, smart health, smart city and smart transportation.
Also, the applications include home automation and remote controls, industrial IoT, robotics, security cameras, sensors, autonomous vehicles, medical instruments, object detection, sound detection, odour and taste detection, gesture control and cybersecurity.
Biotome CEO Samuel Lundin said: “We believe the precision of antibody tests for infections can be improved dramatically. Our partnership with Brainchip is an important step for our development of point-of-care tests that are based on patented high-precision immunological markers.
“We are very excited to explore how the cutting-edge Akida neural processor can improve the accuracy and information quality of the antibody-tests we are developing, by providing advanced AI capacity at the point of care.
“The joint project we are embarking on aims to use Akida to identify the antibodies that can protect against SARS- CoV-2 infection – the so-called neutralising antibodies. If the project is successful, we will apply the same principles to other antibody tests in our pipeline.”
Biotome is a precision immunology company with the potential to improve the performance of diagnostics, and discover immunological markers of superior accuracy.
