For the past 50 years, medicine has relied on complicated chemical tests to detect cancers, infections and other diseases at the molecular level. The process requires enzymes, amplification and trained clinicians to administer and analyze results. Now, IdentifySensors has developed electronic semiconductors that trigger instant digital results when placed in contact with blood or saliva.
Check4 by IdentifySensors® Biologics is a new diagnostic platform intended to rapidly detect and differentiate multiple diseases simultaneously at the gene level, while eliminating the complications of chemical tests.
Patented technology eliminates enzymatic amplification and reagents. Graphene-based semiconductors are printed into solid-state circuits to become biosensors. The technology is intended to move diagnostics away from chemical testing and into a rapid multiplex digital platform with a lower limit of detection than the most accurate PCR tests on the market today.
In extensive preliminary studies, these biosensors pinpointed target DNA and RNA in saliva and blood almost immediately. Electronic chips serve as the core to a new Bluetooth portable device intended for point-of-care and over-the-counter use.
The company plans to expand the platform to rapidly detect genetic material from dozens of infections, cancers and other diseases.
With cost of goods significantly lower than current molecular tests, Check4 is intended to disrupt the PCR market. This technology has not yet been approved for sale in the United States.
IdentifySensors' senior advisor, William Shatner, speaks on the company's new ability to instantly detect cancer.
Demonstration Clip
Digital biosensors intend to rapidly detect multiple infectious diseases and cancerous biomarkers from saliva or blood on the molecular level.
Microchips made from graphene are printed into solid-state, semiconducting biosensors.
Rapid tests are expected to surpass Limit of Detection performance of current PCR tests.
Cost of goods and pricing is targeted well below PCR tests.
Inteneded for early detection of cancers, viruses and bacteria.
FDA submissions was initiated in Q2 2025.
Rapid multiplex testing for point-of-care and over-the-counter markets.
Results sent to smartphones, remote dashboards or a clinical database.
A platform technology that wil be introduced as a SaaS model.
Data capturing capabilities to support research and managing population health.
Step One
A patient or clinician inserts a small saliva sample or blood into the Check4® test cartridge. If target DNA or RNA is present in the sample, digitial signals from the biosensors trigger a measurable reaction. An algorithm in the cloud determines the results. If pathogen genes are absent, a molecular reaction cannot occur, and the test is deemed negative.
Step Two
After the algorithm interprets the data, the system sends test results to the user by text or email in minutes. The biosensors use no chemical additives or amplification. The results in preliminary studies have been nearly immediate. Accurate and rapid results can help lower costs and increase the speed for treatment.
Demonstration Clip
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently discovered that cancer can be detected in the bloodstream a full three years before it is commonly diagnosed by doctors. In a study published in the journal Cancer Discovery, scientists found genetic material shed by tumors emerge in the bloodstream far earlier than previously thought. This could drive new cancer-screening methods that enable early treament well before the disease becomes more serious.
To prove their theory, the team used a multicancer early detection (MCED) lab test, which is essentially a complex and very expensive PCR test. While the approach holds significant opportunity, the challenge lies in developing an affordable and accessible cancer-screening tool that can be deployed easily among millions of people on a sustainable basis.
IdentifySensors is quickly moving in this direction, with new technology intended to detect early tumor fragments with an affordable, user-friendly, molecular test that can be taken anywhere, any time.
The Check4® SaaS testing platform:
1) The reader, which can be reused many times, serves as the base of the platform. It accepts any number of different cartridges that test for different pathogens.
2) The test cartridges, which are used when connected to the reader, are single-use, disposable devices that identify single or multiple diseases or cancerous biomarkers. Users will be charged for results on a SaaS platform model.
Bluetooth Reader
The Bluetooth reader can be reused many times. It reads test data from the cartridge and serves as the base for the testing platform. When connected to the Check4® mobile app, the reader communicates results to an interpretive algorithm in the cloud.
Disposable test cartridges
A test cartridge can contain one or more digital biosensors. The sensors are intended to detect and differentiate multiple diseases when the cartridge is connected to a reader. A Luer Lock syringe and sample collector is included with each cartridge.
Saliva Sample Collector
A sample-collection device is included with each test kit. It includes a collection cup and a standard Luer Lock syringe to insert saliva or blood into the cartridge when testing.
Check4 Reader App
The Check4® Reader app uses Bluetooth to connect the reader to each user account in the cloud. An algorithm within the system interprets data from the cartridge and sends test results to users by text or email.
Intended for high SENSITIVITY
During research-and-development studies, clinical samples were taken from patients at the Indiana Medical Center and tested for a pilot respiratory study to evaluate the limit of detection for the Check4® platform.
Using highly sensitive quantitative PCR tests, clinical samples were diluted to 200 gene copies per milliliter and tested on the Check4® platform. The clinical trials yielded 99.9 percent at a sensitivity well beyond the capabilities of most PCR tests.
This groundbreaking technoloigy is intended to detect infections and cancer before patients show symptoms and help slow the spread of disease. Statements relating to this performance are on record and based on pilot testing. They have not yet been authorized by the U.S. FDA or other international regulatory authorities, but submissions to the FDA were officially initiated in 2025.
REMOTE CAPABILITIES
The Check4® testing platform intends to rapidly detect multiple diseases digitally, enabling results to be seen remotely on a mobile smart device, a clinical database or an organization’s dashboard. It is intended that patients will be able to test at home and send test results to clinicians without risking infection or spreading disease.
This technology offers businesses, events and other gatherings the potential to test attendees remotely before clearing for entry, such as a cruise ship. It is intended that health-care agencies will be able to access population-health data for infection control and spread prevention in an epidemic or pandemic.
IdentifySensors® Biologics initiated regulatory submissions with the U.S. FDA in Q2 2025. The Check4® product portfolio is not yet currently commercially available.
IdentifySensors® maintains an extensive and growing patent portfolio, reflecting a wide ranging freedom to operate and an ongoing commitment to innovation and technological advancement. New patents are continuously added as we develop and protect our latest breakthroughs. Existing patents include:
Issued Patents
7,667,593
7,911,336
8,629,770
8,674,827
9,922,525
10,395,503
11,140,880
11,172,339
11,179,061
11,340,210
11,527,141
11,614,439
11,614,439
11,819,323
11,832,152
11,869,329
11,869,329
11,892,425
11,896,372
12,000,823
12,000,823
12,019,063
12,092,629
12,190,700
18/078,982
18/078,982
Pending Patents
10 additional patents pending being prosecuted globally
IdentifySensors® Biologics has developed its Check4® testing platform for two principal markets: over-the-counter sales and point-of-care use in clinical environments. The company intends to introduce product in 2026.
Point of care
Over-the-counter
Researchers at IdentifySensors® envision an ideal testing platform -- a comprehensive technology that performs three critical functions simultaneously: 1) rapid multiplex disease detection; 2) identifying specific biomarkers that predict illness severity and; 3) detection that measures a patient’s response to vaccines.
Obtaining this breadth of information rapidly from a single sample of saliva or blood, performed at home could dramatically change the future of molecular diagnostics.
Printed solid-state biosensors on graphene-based inks hold the potential to eventually reach these milestones. IdentifySensors® is currently focused on the first stage of detection – direct multiplex pathogen diagnosis. But a longer vision for this same technology could have a profound impact on cancer and population health in the future.
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