Envision A Future of
Predictive Medicine
Synex Medical is developing non-invasive health monitoring technology to enable a future of predictive and personalized medicine.
Our Mission
Synex is building a future where predictive healthcare becomes the norm, leaving reactive medicine in the past. Today we believe there is a fundamental technology gap in which no product can truly monitor human health and well-being. Our current focus is developing compact, portable technology that provides real-time, non-invasive metabolic data. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, our innovative techniques accurately measure blood metabolites like glucose and lactate without the discomfort of a needle prick.
Core Science
Hydrogen atoms are essential for many biological processes. All the hydrogen atoms in your body contain a proton in their center, or nucleus. Those protons have a tiny magnetic field, which can be measured through a process called magnetic resonance. Since nearly all metabolites (molecules involved in metabolism) contain hydrogen atoms, our technology can accurately measure the building blocks of our health.
01
Polarization
A surrounding magnet aligns protons in the direction of the magnetic field, creating a small baseline magnetization. The protons precess around the magnetic field lines at a very specific frequency, just like a spinning top wobbles around the Earth's gravitational field.
02
Excitation
Low-power radio frequency (RF) pulses, which are a form of electromagnetic energy, are applied to the finger. These pulses cause the protons to tip away from the magnetic field and become excited. Our specific RF pulses are designed to target the protons in glucose molecules, enhancing their signals while reducing interference from other molecules.
03
Detection
This emitted energy, known as the free induction decay or FID, is captured by our receiver as the magnetic resonance signal. The receiver then converts these signals into data that can be analyzed to determine the concentration of specific metabolites, including glucose.
04
Quantification
Analyte signals are isolated and measured to determine blood concentrations relevant to your health. We focus on blood and interstitial fluid in the dermis to provide an accurate and absolute measurement from your fingertip. This quantification process involves filtering out noise and other irrelevant signals from the captured data, ensuring that only health critical analytes like glucose are analyzed.
The fact that Synex has shown that a portable magnetic resonance system can directly measure glucose is groundbreaking. Many thought that to be impossible. Their data is compelling, and highlights a path to a world-changing product.
Magnetic resonance is the most versatile spectroscopic technique and allows for the direct measurement of dozens of different metabolites. By miniaturizing to such a small scale, Synex has shown that it's possible to directly observe metabolism in a portable form factor, paving the way to a new generation of health monitors.
Giving people a painless, easy, yet data-rich way to get insights into how their bodies work is an amazing vision. Synex has an opportunity to make a real contribution to our society's health, and we're excited to support them.
Our Supporters
Our Founder
Our story began with Ben Nashman, who started exploring this technology while still in high school. With a passion for both sci-fi and physics, he envisioned novel applications for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), aspiring to create a device akin to the Star Trek tricorder.
Synex's early days were unconventional. Ben's first prototype was a makeshift tabletop device assembled in one of Mount Sinai's smallest labs to demonstrate the feasibility of low-field non-invasive metabolite measurement. Recognizing the potential of this prototype, Andressa Lacerda joined as Synex's first employee and played a crucial role in building the early team and securing initial funding. Today, Synex is actively growing with a team of 30 leading scientists, engineers, designers and healthcare professionals with the shared vision of enabling a future of predictive medicine.
Meet the team
At Synex, our success is driven by a small and exceptionally skilled team. Our technology is highly interdisciplinary, and the background of our team reflects this. We are built of a mixture of world-leading scientists, engineers, product designers and healthcare professionals with the shared vision of enabling a future of predictive medicine. Our work is incredibly challenging but rewarding, and we're proud of the team we've put together to accomplish what many have termed the “Holy Grail” of health monitoring. The team includes individuals with PhDs from institutions like Columbia University and technical leaders from companies such as Whoop, ecobee, Xanadu, and Synaptive Medical.
Our team is located within the US and Canada, developing cutting-edge technology for real-time health monitoring in a hybrid environment.