Egypt team wins at Intel challenge for Hepatitis C detection

A team of entrepreneurs from Egypt came in third place at the seventh annual Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley, winning $10,000 for an innovation that can detect Hepatitis C.

NanoDiagX of Egypt uses gold nanoparticles to develop a virus test that can detect Hepatitis C in less than an hour, and at one-tenth the cost of current commercial tests, according to an Intel statement.

First prize when to for China’s Gaitu, a one-stop image processing platform that matches Chinese consumers with designers who add special effects, provide image-sharing services and turn edited photos into art or merchandise.

Second place and $20,000 was awarded to Maxygen-mobile DNA of Russia for inventing a low-cost, portable DNA test solution that can be used at the point of care to quickly identify thousands of infectious diseases, genetic predispositions and hereditary conditions.

The Egypt team NanoDiagX is led by Dr. Hassan M. E. Azzazy (coordinator), Tamer M. Samir, Sherif Mohamed Shawky, Mai M. H. Mansour and Ahmed H. Tolba. The innovation won first place in the seventh Arab Technology Business Plan Competition 2011, organized by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) in partnership with Intel Corporation and in collaboration with the United Nations for Industrial Development (UNIDO).

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects some 200 million people worldwide, according to the statement.

“Early identification and treatment of infected patients is critical to reducing transmission of the disease, but conventional detection of active HCV generally requires two tests. Using gold nanoparticles, NanoDiagX has developed the HCV nanogold test, which detects the disease in less than an hour at one-tenth the cost of current commercial tests,” the statement added.

NanoDiagX plans to adapt its technology for detection of other infectious agents such as tuberculosis and cancer biomarkers.

Shelly Esque, president of the Intel Foundation and vice president in Intel’s Legal and Corporate Affairs group, said, “Through our education programs, we’ve seen firsthand how empowering entrepreneurs positively impacts individuals, communities and economies.”