Ancon Technologies

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Ancon Technologies's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Ancon Technologies is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.ancontechnologies.com

35ANCON TECHNOLOGIES |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

Inventor Dr Gorbunov

Chemical and second-generation

explosive detection

Across the globe, the news broadcasts a seemingly endless

parade of emerging new threats that compromise

both safety and peace of mind. From terror attacks to

pandemic diseases, the world has never seemed more insecure,

challenged by hazards that look unrecognisable, unpredictable

or unstoppable. Whether the threat is from an explosive

device, a deadly disease or an illegal narcotic, early detection

has always been the first line of defence. Many of the current

systems designed to provide early warning rely on technology

that is decades old, with slow reaction times and high costs.

ANCON Technologies is now entering a period which will see its

developments in detection equipment for security and medical

applications change the market fundamentally.

An innovative early detection technology

Now, we are using the emerging field of nanotechnology to bring about a

fundamental transformation in the science supporting early warning sensors. The

Canterbury-based, privately owned company is developing breakthrough chemical

detection technology, a new level of detection that will disrupt the traditional

security industry marketplace.

Nanotechnology molecular tagging (NMT) offers the most sensitive detection of

trace chemicals in the atmosphere to date. The applications are broad reaching,

providing accurate detection of explosive materials, quick warning of radioactivity

and early diagnosis of disease infection.

FACTS ABOUT

ANCON TECHNOLOGIES

»CEO (UK): Dr Robert Muir

»Development director (UK)

and CEO (US): Wesley Baker

»Technical director:

DrBorisGorbunov

»Established in 2003

»Based in Canterbury, Kent,

and Bloomington, Minnesota

»Services: Medical, security

and aerosol technology

development

»No. of employees: 15

»www.ancontechnologies.com

www.anconmedical.com

ANCON Technologies

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

36 | ANCON TECHNOLOGIES

A timely solution to an urgent

chemical problem

As threats of chemical attack continue

to mount, government officials are

pushing for better security standards,

with regulations requiring upgraded

equipment in some transportation

systems and the implementation of

mass screening of venues.

The need for early detection methods

has never been more evident. The

chemical attack this year in Salisbury

showed the danger that chemicals

continue to pose to the public.

We offer a state-of-the-art security

device that can swiftly and reliably

detect the presence of explosives,

chemicals or other compounds

through precise atmospheric readings,

which are accurate down to the

molecular level. This advantage makes

our security products a thousand times

more sensitive than market leaders.

Disruptive breakthrough in

screening, diagnosis and

disease management

We have developed a “once-in-

a-generation technology” known

as nanoparticle biomarker tagging

(NBT). The mission is to bring this

technology to the medical screening

and diagnostic market. NBT will have

a similar impact in today’s healthcare

market as the MRI and x-ray created in

the past and will generate very-early-

stage screening and diagnosis via a

non-invasive breath test.

This technique uses biomarker disease

profiling and the latest artificial

intelligence software, so every patient

increases the knowledge stored in

the cloud database and the screening

process becomes ever more accurate.

Nanoparticle biomarker tagging:

non-invasive, quick and precise

NBT screening and diagnosis systems

will be in every medical clinic, hospital,

pharmacy and public health setting,

providing real-time early-stage

screening and diagnosis for cancers

and other diseases, leading to effective,

personalised treatments that will save

lives, improve quality of life and reduce

the cost of long-term medical care.

The NBT will also be used as a disease

management tool, monitoring the effects

of treatments such as chemotherapy

and radiotherapy in a live data setting.

Nanoparticle biomarker tagging is the

only technology that directly detects

concentration, through an inventive

process that tags and counts the

elemental unit of mass – the single

molecule through breath. This non-

invasive, versatile technology is truly at

the cutting edge of innovation in the

medical device industry.

How nanoparticle biomarker

tagging works

Nanoparticle biomarker tagging

can be utilised as the foundation of

a device that serves as a portable

micro-laboratory. The process is similar

to gas chromatography with mass

spectrometry detection; however, the

latter requires a high vacuum that

makes it expensive, slow and suitable

only for laboratory study. Conversely,

nanoparticle biomarker tagging

technology ionises a breath sample, tags

the ions with specially generated nano-

objects and then uses a laser to count

the molecules, to identify the biomarker

chemicals and to gauge concentrations.

The nano-objects serve to increase

the physical volume of each targeted

Non-invasive lung cancer

screening and diagnosis

Environmental

monitoring

Once-in-a-

generation

technology

“

37ANCON TECHNOLOGIES |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

molecule by more than one billion times,

making it visible to optical lasers for

counting. It is cheap and cost-effective

to operate.

Once the results are received via the

NBT, the device creates a specific

unique profile of the patient’s breath

and, using artificial machine learning

technology in the cloud, builds a matrix

for screening the patient. This is, in

effect, Star Trek technology. The patient

breathes into the device for one minute

and a result is provided in under ten

minutes for the medical professional.

This approach leads to many advantages,

including:

»Unprecedented sensitivities to be

able to screen and diagnose disease;

»Simplicity of use allowing for

professionals to be utilised elsewhere

while test is ongoing;

»Cheap and cost-effective to deliver;

»Non-invasive and quick allowing for

mass screening capability that is easy

to implement;

»Results generated in a short time

frame saving time and money for the

medical industry.

The result is a real-time, non-invasive

screening detection device that outpaces

current technology in many qualities,

including costs, sensitivity and portability.

Versatile applications, limitless

potential

With its advance research programme,

we are targeting our product

development towards the new

generation of detection devices.

For security providers, the technology

is programmed for accurate, sensitive

detection of trace elements of explosive

material, but it can be adapted to

detect radiation or illegal narcotics.

In the healthcare industry, the technology

provides a method for rapid early

screening and diagnosis of infectious

diseases like tuberculosis and influenza,

and also lung cancer, simply by

checking a subject’s breath for chemical

biomarkers that indicate the disease.

The same medical applications can also

be extended to veterinary medicine,

with further uses for petrochemical and

food safety functions also in the works.

The path to market

This is only our beginning; we

seek to build a revenue model on

manufacturing in the medical device

industry and licensing within the

security industry and supplying key

components to “prime” defence

and security suppliers. Furthermore,

we are looking to develop long-term

partnerships with numerous civil bodies

across the UK and the US including the

NHS and Homeland Security.

As threats continue to develop, so

must the means by which to combat

them, be this in explosives, chemicals

or weaponised disease. Without

fundamental improvements in

technology, many of these vulnerabilities

remain a threat every day to Britons and

citizens the world over. We are poised

to revolutionise both security detection

and medical diagnosis worldwide with

advanced products and technology that

stand to disrupt the current marketplace

while making the world a safer place.

Non-invasive

and quick

allowing for

mass

screening

“

Nanoparticle biomarker

tagging (NBT) is quick

and easy to use

www.ancontechnologies.com

This article was sponsored by Ancon Technologies. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy