Key points
Inaccurate iron test results are detrimental to people's health and cost Australians billions of dollars every year.
Ground-breaking technology, developed by The Florey and University of Melbourne, uses quantum technology to measure iron accurately.
The Australian Government is funding the team to visit Katherine, NT, to research whether the technology, called FeBI, would be useful for rural and remote communities.
Inaccurate iron testing leads to poor health outcomes while costing Australia billions of dollars each year
Scientists working on a revolutionary world-first iron test are heading to the Northern Territory to gather real-world data to help them design a blood-test device to operate in a range of environments.
Florey scientist Dr Nicole Jenkins is CEO and cofounder of FeBI Technologies, the company developing a new quantum-based blood test able to measure iron levels cheaply, reliably and accurately.
Existing blood tests measure ferritin, not iron, but FeBI - developed by scientists from The Florey and the University of Melbourne - is on track to change that.
Dr Jenkins said we should imagine our iron is like water inside tiny bottles made of the protein ferritin carried along in the bloodstream.
"When doctors order blood tests, they really want to know how much 'water' there is. Current technology allows us only to see the 'bottles', not what's inside them. The problem is that while some 'bottles' are full of 'water', some are empty. This can render the ferritin blood test for iron inaccurate, particularly in people with chronic health conditions."
Existing ferritin-based iron tests result in misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and cost Australians billions of dollars each year. She said low iron levels predominately affects women.
"FeBI has the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment of iron disorders including iron deficiency, anaemia, and haemochromatosis - iron overload. FeBI will also enable monitoring in diseases where iron status is vital for health management such as chronic kidney disease and diabetes, which disproportionately affect First Nations people."
Recognising FeBI's potential to transform clinical iron testing, The Australian Government's Critical Technologies Challenge Program – which has a goal to foster First Nations engagement in developing quantum technology - has provided $494,000 to fund prototype development and First Nations engagement in Katherine, NT commencing in August.
University of Melbourne Professor of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Sean Taylor will lead the work in Katherine, through FeBI's partnership with Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation.
"Our work in the Northern Territory is vital to understand the features a FeBI device needs in order to be useful and valued - and to make sure it stands up in practical terms in a remote community," Professor Taylor said.
Sunrise Health Service CEO Rebecca Bond said: "Sunrise Health Service is excited to be part of such important research that may prove to be a game changer in accurate testing of Iron levels for first nations people and others."
Ms Bond said FeBI iron testing will potentially lead to better health outcomes for pregnant women, young children and all those effected by chronic disease throughout their life course.
"Through innovation and improved point of care testing, FeBI may also improve quality, timeliness and accuracy of testing on the ground, but more importantly be less invasive for clients than current methods. This will mean less avoidance by clients of having their iron levels tested," she said.
Dr Jenkins said: "The information gathered in Katherine will inform the design of a blood-test device that is accessible and affordable and able to operate in any environment."
University of Melbourne Associate Professor David Simpson - a co-founder of FeBI – said: "We have been working on diamond based quantum sensing technology for over a decade now and we are excited to see it develop into a precision diagnostic tool for direct and accurate iron assessment from a simple blood test."
