| Phoenix Startup i-calQ Turns Smartphones into Diagnostic Labs | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/ced/1279 | Community and Economic Development | | 5/28/2020 4:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/1279/NEWSROOM_CED_0070.jpg | https://youtu.be/5mafu0RjXrE | Phoenix Startup i-calQ Turns Smartphones into Diagnostic Labs | <div class="ExternalClass5340D717C7114399918685718D8BACF4"><html>
<div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Kevin is complaining about a sore throat, and his mother is concerned it might be strep throat. It’s a moment that could mean staying home from work and hauling Kevin to urgent care or waiting to see a doctor. It used to mean that, but someday there could be a home test for that.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><em>By Eric Jay Toll and Athena Sanchez for PhxNewsroom</em></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Though a home test is not approved now, someday Kevin’s mom may be able to send the test results from her smartphone and then head to the pharmacy for an antibiotic or ask for drone delivery.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“That’s just where my brain went when I started thinking about all the ways we could help people with this type of technology,” said Pamela J. Turbeville, CEO and founder of the Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.-based startup. “Long-term, you remove the need to go to urgent care and getting exposed to other sick people who are carrying a variety of different things. This will also protect your family with whom you live.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Out of hundreds of startups from around the world, i-calQ is one of three from Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., to join 27 others in the 2020 BIO International Startup Stadium. The Stadium is a “Shark Tank” competition among the startups for venture capital, strategic partnerships and collaborative opportunities. BMSEED and Equus Innovations are the other Phoenix companies entering the competition in June.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“The importance of high-quality telemedicine has perhaps never been greater than it is now during Covid-19,” said Mayor Kate Gallego. “This technology can truly help revolutionize how we interact with healthcare providers. I-calQ is a true testament to the diverse innovation ecosystem housed in our city.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Six years and millions of dollars later, the platform functions well with both iOS and Android mobile operating systems. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“Even when issues were needing to be corrected, we never doubted that we would get the test platform to where it needed to be,” said Turbeville. “The combination of people we could help and the impact we could have on the community was the focus.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">The CEO calls herself a “Phoenix kid just trying to make the world a better place.” She’s a fourth-generation Arizona native and is a part of a family of cowboys. Turbeville has worked all over the United States and Canada but returned to her Arizona roots to find the ecosystem to make her idea a reality.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">i-calQ technology opens the world to rapid medical testing. In developed nations, the application means time- and money-saving convenience. In the developing world, it means access to testing and diagnostics in places where the infrastructure of laboratories and technicians are not readily available. Test results return in about ten minutes, and treatments can start immediately.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“i-calQ’s Covid-19 test is awaiting approval and then can be used on the spot to test students to get back to class, employees to go back to work, safely,” Turbeville said. “Similarly, the thyroid-stimulating hormone test will allow testing babies in remote areas where there aren’t facilities.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">She says that this technology is among the first steps for bringing down the overall cost of medicine in the U.S. and opening access across the world.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Like many startups, Turbeville is ready to launch the product to market. The company is seeking working capital to scale up.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Seven patents are already in the house, “a lot for a startup,” according to Turbeville. Once launched, i-calQ could be reducing test-result delays and getting patients to treatment more quickly.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">The CEO calls it a “platform for change.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“We can test for COVID-19 now and, if we know what the next global pandemic will be, we can plan for it,” she said. “This wasn’t our original charter, but the company has developed this capability.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">“The net result is that i-calQ will make a difference in the lives of many people by saving lives and improving the quality of individual life,” Turbeville said. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:13.3333px;">Phoenix is America’s fifth-largest with the most population growth of any U.S. city for the last four years. The city has invested over $500 million with its partners into the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The city has also invested millions into the Arizona Health Solutions campus of Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University. Public and private bioscience and healthcare organizations are committing more than $3 billion to develop 4.6 million square feet of new facilities in the city of Phoenix. The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro area is the tenth most populous in the U.S., having passed the Boston-Cambridge-Newton Massachusetts-New Hampshire metro area in 2019.</span></div>
</html></div> | https://www.phoenix.gov/econdev | Video | | ced | | CED | | | | #i-calQ #econdev #phoenix #bio #biosciences #telemedicine #startupstadium | i-calQ, telemedicine, pamela turbeville, diagnostics, applications, smartphones, bio, biosciences, economic development, CEI, center for entrepreneurial innovation, city of phoenix, research, electrodes, meassure, grand canyon university, gcu, bio, bio international, startup stadium, startups, venture, capital, seed funding, | Eric Jay Toll | 602-617-3797 | | | | eric.toll@phoenix.gov | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/MediaContact/Attachments/52/Eric_Toll.jpg | | | | | | | | PHXEconDev | |
