Adaptive Biotechnologies, a firm specializing in immune-driven medical technology, recently announced that it was relying on artificial intelligence to come up with more precise, effective diagnostics systems and therapies for a wide array of immunity-related diseases. The firm has developed powerful immune sequencing technologies, which, when used alongside Microsoft’s research and large-scale AI learning and cloud computing systems, enables scientists to create individual disease diagnostics (and eventually universal diagnostics) through a blood test. Think of the new technology as a ‘universal map of the immune system’ that decodes the genetics of the immune system to find a plethora of diseases. AI is used to study the way in which T-cell receptors (located on white blood cells), bind to antigens (signals of disease). This is just one of many new technologies that are making early, more efficient diagnostics a possibility in the future.

It is well-known that the immune system depends on diet. High-fiber diets, for instance, are known to help reduce inflammation. Probiotics and fermented foods, meanwhile, contain useful bacteria that bind to specific proteins on cells, signaling to the immune system in positive ways. Not all people are alike, of course, which is why personalized nutrition is the buzzword in this realm of health. A new startup called Spoon Guru (from London) has devised a way to help consumers find the specific foods and supplements they need to support their immune system. The system uses AI to allow users to use an ‘immune tag’ when shopping for foods and supplements. They are then presented with foods and supplements that are high in the nutrients they need to support the functioning of their immune system.

New technology is also being used to diagnose immunity to specific diseases - including the Ebola virus. Researchers at UCL and Imperial College London, for instance, have devised a novel test that uses ‘lateral flow technology’ (similar to that used in pregnancy tests) alongside smartphones to offer a cheap, quick alternative to lab-based testing for ebola. The test detects the presence of specific antibodies so as to identify people who have been exposed to the virus. It enables scientists to comprehend individuals’ exposure to different ebola strains, helps detect immunity in the early stages of recovery, and potentially helps detect asymptomatic cases. It takes just 15 minutes to receive a result, compared to the five hours taken by lab-based tests.

A new system developed by Yale researchers enables them to identify hard-to-find cancer cells and eliminate them in a way that other immunotherapies cannot achieve. The new system has been found to reduce or eliminate melanoma and triple-negative breast and pancreatic tumors in mice, even those which are located far from the primary cancer source. The system essentially marries viral gene therapy and CRISPR gene-editing technology. The system (called MAEGI) embarks on a massive hunt of tens of thousands of genes, acting as a GPS to identify their location and increase signals. MAEGI then identifies tumor cells that are to be destroyed, turning tumors that lack immune cells into those that do have immune cells.

Researchers are devising a host of new systems to help battle immunity-related diseases. These systems aim to speed up diagnostics via the use of AI and other technologies. Some developments, such as MAEGI, also enable specific diseases such as cancer to be treated, and the hope is that this system will eventually be effective against several types of cancer.