Purdue-connected digital health startup wins phase 1 of NIH competition for maternal health

The technology was developed by Young Kim, HemaChrome’s founder and chief science officer. Kim is a professor and associate head for research at Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. He also is a Showalter Faculty Scholar and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue. Huiri Kim is HemaChrome’s CEO. 

“Blood hemoglobin tests are among the most common laboratory tests because they are an indicator of a variety of diseases and disorders,” Young Kim said. “In fact, they are the most common laboratory tests conducted among obstetric patients. However, more than 2.2 million childbearing women in the U.S. have limited access to such testing.

“Conventional blood hemoglobin tests are usually conducted by invasive and expensive venous blood draws, which require sophisticated equipment, highly trained experts to run the tests and patients who must be present on-site with their health care provider. Our simple app is intended to eliminate these barriers and make these tests accessible to everyone, especially those in health care deserts, by allowing clinicians to conduct point-of-care, home-based and remote diagnostic tests on their patients at a fraction of the cost.” 

During phase 1 of the challenge, HemaChrome received a cash prize and was vetted by NIH’s panel of scientific, medical and business experts for technical and commercial viability. Because it won, HemaChrome will have access to NIH’s in-house and in-kind support to speed the development, validation and commercialization of its technology. 

HemaChrome meets twice a week with the NIH RADx team of experts as part of the process to proceed to phase 2 of the challenge.

“We are working with the NIH RADx team to identify and mitigate key risk factors for the accelerated development and implementation of our technology,” Young Kim said. “If we progress to the next phase, we will work with them to independently test and verify our technology’s performance and usability. 

“Because the process to receive federal funding and support is highly competitive, winning phase 1 of the challenge has strengthened HemaChrome’s resolve to bring our solution to market to benefit those without sufficient health care access who need it most.”

Young Kim’s research about this technology has been published in several publications and peer-reviewed journals, including the November 2022 issue of Blood and the June 2020 issue of Optica. He is preparing additional papers and conducting ongoing clinical studies. 

“One of our ongoing clinical studies is historically meaningful,” Kim said. “The institutional review board, or IRB, approval between Purdue University and IU Health Arnett Hospital in Lafayette (Indiana) is the first between these two institutions in Greater Lafayette.”

HemaChrome has received support from the U.S.-Korea Conference Startup Pitch Competition and the 2020 NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge. The company also has received support from Purdue Innovates and licenses technology through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.

About HemaChrome

HemaChrome introduces a simple mobile health solution that makes blood hemoglobin testing accessible and affordable for nearly everyone by using just what you already own – a smartphone or computer. Click on our mobile app and noninvasively measure your patient’s blood hemoglobin regardless of where they are – simply take live photos of on-site patients and screenshots over video calls for off-site patients. Instant and reliable results at a fraction of the cost, point-of-care and beyond.

Visit www.hemachrome.co or contact info@hemachrome.co for more information.

About the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property.

In fiscal year 2021, the office reported 159 deals finalized with 236 technologies signed, 394 disclosures received and 187 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.