This new blood test, called LymeSeek, works differently by detecting 10 different antigens simultaneously. An algorithm developed using deep learning “sorts through all of the responses,” explained Holly Ahern, MS, MT, the chief scientific officer of ACES Diagnostics, the company developing LymeSeek, in Paradise Valley, Arizona. “That is what gives the test its very high sensitivity and specificity,” she said. Ahern is also an associate professor of microbiology at State University of New York at Adirondack (SUNY Adirondack) in Queensbury, New York.
To validate the test, developers analyzed the human serum samples of 150 control individuals and 158 Lyme disease cases, across all phases of Lyme disease. Samples were provided by the Lyme Disease Biobank, the CDC, and the Johns Hopkins University Lyme Disease Research Center in Baltimore. The control samples were from patients in endemic and nonendemic areas and included individuals with non-Lyme look-like diseases, like mononucleosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The test correctly classified 281 samples as Lyme cases or control individuals, resulting in a test sensitivity of 91.7% and a specificity of 90.7%.
-------------------- Ann-OH Posts: 1745 | From Ohio | Registered: Aug 2014
| IP: Logged |
aklnwlf
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5960
posted
Looks promising.
-------------------- Do not take this as medical advice. This comment is based on opinion and personal experience only.
Alaska Lone Wolf Posts: 6918 | From Columbus, GA | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hope this gets to the public quickly. Game changer.
-------------------- Hiker53
"God is light. In Him there is no darkness." 1John 1:5 Posts: 10168 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
MADDOG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18
posted
And a big thanks to you Ann for this information. MADDOG
Posts: 4083 | From Ohio | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
Phoiph
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41238
posted
"The control samples were from patients in endemic and nonendemic areas and included individuals with non-Lyme look-like diseases, like mononucleosis and rheumatoid arthritis."
I'm wondering how they can ensure that the control group doesn't have undetected Lyme, since Lyme can't be ruled out by sero-testing, and often Epstein-Barr, RA and Lyme coexist.
If the control group has undetected Lyme, it would mean that the new test is also missing those cases.
At least it sounds like a step in the right direction. Hopefully with AI assisting, testing will continue to improve.
Posts: 2072 | From Earth | Registered: Jul 2013
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic