RPI team cashes in on idea

Blood-testing technology earns third-place award at state Business Plan Competition

TROY, N.Y. >>> A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student pitched an innovative medical business plan that helped his project, Sanguine Diagnostics, earn the Capital Region Cup last month at the 8th Annual New York Business Plan Competition and a third-place ranking statewide.

The company, founded in 2015, developed a system to test blood for multiple diseases at the point of care and within an hour through the use of ad- vanced, paper-based diagnostic technology. The team did not create the technology itself, but instead created the system for paper diagnostic tests to be implemented in the healthcare industry.

“It’s like an engine without a car,” said Vincent Arena, an RPI senior who was instrumental in developing the company’s business plan and pitching the idea at competitions such as the New York Business Plan Competition sponsored by SUNY Polytechnic Institute. “There’s all these different tests and different labs all over the world, and none of them currently have one system-integrated platform where all the tests can fit together and be customized for different settings.”

The system allows for the delivery of accurate, rapid results at a low cost to address population health issues, such as the time-consuming process of testing blood prior to donating on an emergency basis. The idea has been pitched at RPI startup events like REVEAL Accelerator, where Arena presented the idea for the first time. It was a project he fell into by chance, and he now serves as a leader in business development and a trusted team member.

“I was best friends with Dominic Gelfuso, who originally came up with the idea,” said Arena, who was involved in other school-related commitments before joining the team. He was completing his final week at an internship when he received an urgent call from Gelfuso, who was unable to attend a business incubator event at the school.

“With a week’s notice, he got me up to date on the entirety of what happened over the summer,” said Arena. “I ended up pitching it at REVEAL Accelerator, and we ended up getting the best pitch out of all the teams there.”

Since then, Arena has pitched the idea at other events, received recognition at several competitions and worked with programs like I- Corps I- Site through the National Science

Foundation and RPI’s Change the World Challenge. The group has received funding to kickstart their plan and won cash prizes at several events, among them a $1,500 prize for their third-place finish in the advanced technology division of the statewide New York Business Plan Competition on April 28.

“We recently just were awarded with third place out of the whole of New York state who competed in the advanced technology track,” said Arena, whose company competed against teams from 10 regions in the state.

Though they did not win the $100,000 grand prize, group members have plans to hire full-time engineering staff and build momentum to get their company into the medical field.

“We’re going to be setting up agreements and licensing for our first panel of tests,” said Arena, who noted the company has plans to partner with veterinarians and perform blood testing on farm animals in agricultural settings.

Arena said Sanguine Diagnostics has the potential to save patients money and time with the implementation of paper testing, which would also remove centralized labs and blood transportation from the bloodtesting equation.

“This is what the future is going to be in terms of blood testing,” said Arena.

For more information about the New York Business Plan Competition, visit www.nybplan.com.