Published in a prestigious international journal in the top 3% of the analytical chemistry field (IF 12.6)

 

Enables rapid and accurate NK cell activity testing with just a small blood sample, even for non-professionals

 

A collaborative research team led by Professor Hyun Sik Jeon from the Department of Bioinformatics at Korea University Sejong Campus (MetaImmuneTech CEO, corresponding author) and Professor Sung Kyu Seo from the Department of Electronics and Information Engineering (MetaImmuneTech CTO, co-corresponding author), along with Dr. Seon Mi Han (co-CEO of MetaImmuneTech), Professors Byung Soo Kim and Ga Won Kang from the Department of Hematology, and Professor Myung Hyun Nam from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Korea University Anam Hospital, has developed ‘Cellytics® NK.’ This is a personalized immune diagnostic platform based on natural killer (NK) cell activity, and its immune diagnostic capabilities have been scientifically validated.

 

△ (From left to right) Inha Lee, a researcher from the Department of Bioinformatics at Korea University Sejong Campus (currently at MetaImmuneTech, co-first author), Ah Hyun Lee, a researcher from the Department of Electronics and Information Engineering (currently at Hyundai Motor Company, co-first author), Professor Sung Kyu Seo, and Professor Hyun Sik Jeon.

 

The research findings were published online on June 19th in Biosensors and Bioelectronics, a top 3% JCR-ranked journal in the field of analytical chemistry (IF 12.6), without the need for a separate revision process. (Paper title: "Use of a platform with lens-free shadow imaging technology to monitor natural killer cell activity.")

 

Traditional methods for measuring NK cell activity, such as flow cytometry (FACS) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), require expensive, large, and specialized analytical equipment. However, this study demonstrated that using Lens-free Shadow Imaging Technology (LSIT) and Activation Stimulator Cocktail (ASC), even non-professionals can perform rapid (1.5 hours) and accurate testing with just a small amount of blood, achieving accuracy rates of 326% for healthy individuals and 161% for cancer patients.

 

△ Concept diagram of Cellytics® NK, an immune health diagnostic platform based on NK cell activity.

 

The platform quantifies surface changes of NK cells stimulated by ASC into digital inline holograms (shadow patterns) and quickly and accurately provides an individual’s immune health index.

 

Cellytics® NK is the first immune health diagnostic platform capable of providing information on both the number of immune cells and the activity of individual cells simultaneously. It has been recognized for its innovation and technological excellence by winning the 'CES 2024 Digital Health' Innovation Award. The platform is currently undergoing approval and commercialization processes through MetaImmuneTech, with the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

 

Joint corresponding authors Professors Hyun Sik Jeon and Sung Kyu Seo stated, “With the full support of Korea University, the Sejong City-based venture company MetaImmuneTech, which we founded, will strive to revolutionize the global paradigm of immune health diagnostics with Cellytics® NK.” They added, “We aim to continue R&BD efforts to monitor the functions of various immune cells, such as T and B cells, and to establish MetaImmuneTech as a ‘Digital Healthcare Intelligence’ company leading innovations in immune diagnostics, including latent tuberculosis testing platforms like Cellytics® TB.”

 

This research was supported by the Mid-career Researcher Program, the Pan-Ministry R&D Project for Medical Device Development, the Information and Communication Technology Innovation Talent Cultivation Program (ITRC), and the Science Belt Basic Technology Commercialization R&D Project.

△ Comparison of healthy individuals (HD) and cancer patients (CP) analyzed with Cellytics® NK.

 

The number of NK cells (Count) and the Innate Immunity Index (I3) developed in this study show significantly higher statistical relevance compared to traditional biomarkers such as CD107a and IFN-γ, which are known to be indicative of NK cell activation.