A new non-invasive, at-home screening system under development at Carle Illinois College of Medicine aims to provide early warning of iron deficiency without the need for a blood test. The new test strip system developed by Ferritiva uses body fluids like urine to detect markers that indicate an iron deficiency. The test offers a convenient and affordable alternative to blood sampling for at-risk populations, including young women, athletes, children, older adults, people on special diets like vegetarianism, and residents of low-income and underserved communities.
Experts estimate that up to 40% of the world’s population doesn't have enough iron content in their blood but many of those people go undiagnosed. Mild symptoms are nonspecific and can include fatigue, weakness, dizziness, impaired cognition, and impaired performance in athletes. Over time, iron deficiency can progress to iron deficiency anemia and lead to heart and lung problems in all individuals, complications in pregnancy for women, and developmental delays in children.
“Iron deficiency is not commonly screened by most health care providers, and the current screening process requires a doctor’s orders, a visit to a phlebotomist [someone who draws a blood sample for testing], invasiveness of needles from blood work, excessive costs, travel inconvenience, and delayed results,” said CI MED student Jeffrey Lu, who developed the new system as a cost-effective and accessible alternative.
“It’s important to catch iron deficiency early, as treatment with iron supplementation can take months for symptoms to resolve. For instance, with athletes, this could mean the difference between a productive season and a lost one. Since the treatment is simple and effective, there is no reason we shouldn’t address it — yet the biggest barrier remains access to testing. By making iron deficiency screening more accessible, we can ensure that more people receive the care they need, improving public health outcomes on a large scale,” Lu said.
Patients using the new test would apply a small sample of urine, rather than blood, to a special test strip that can detect markers for iron deficiency. A positive test result would flag likely iron deficiency. The team is now developing a sensor that would use image recognition technology on the strips to quantify iron status. Lu says having more precise data could be invaluable for patients who need frequent monitoring, as well as for clinicians and nutritionists in tailoring supplementation regimens.
“The goal is for individuals to purchase our strips and sensors over-the-counter and empower them to take control of their health,” said CI MED student Matt Dusza.”We believe this innovation is more than a convenience. It’s about making preventative health care more effective and accessible for people around the world,” Dusza said.
Team Ferritiva first found success by winning second place in the COZAD New Venture Challenge in 2022, gaining $30,000 in development support. They went on to participate in the iVenture Accelerator program at the Gies College of Business. The innovation won fourth place and was awarded $40k in funding at the 2025 Grand Innovation Challenge Competition sponsored by the Global Consortium of Innovation and Engineering in Medicine.
Pilot studies of the new screening system are underway at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Carle Foundation Hospital focusing on athletes and children. Lu and his fellow CI MED student Matt Dusza hope to partner with manufacturers for large-scale production and conduct clinical trials comparing results from Ferritiva’s test strips to blood tests for iron deficiency.
Editor’s note:
Ferritiva is one of the Capstone Innovations proposed by the future physician-innovators in Carle Illinois’ Class of 2025. In the final phase of Carle Illinois’ engineering-based, innovation-oriented curriculum, fourth-year students research a problem identified during their clinical rotations, propose a solution, and then work with a cross-disciplinary team, including engineering students from The Grainger College of Engineering and the Gies College of Business to develop a new prototype or process that will potentially change the practice of medicine and improve patient outcomes. Collaborators on this project include: MBA student George Polovin; CI MED student Rachael Wong; Mechanical Sciences and Engineering student Eben Lee; and Computer Engineering students Vishnu Shastry and Siddarth Natarajan.