Thanks, BankShot.
I'm here to discuss MMTC. That said, I appreciate you showing us Neogen, a profitable company doing plain, old, 100-year-old microbiology, 40-year old DNA and dye analysis, etc. Imagine what they could do with a product like the Micro Imaging MIT-1000 and its extremely fast and accurate technology (according to USDA, NAMSA and AOAC).
Unfortunately, your profitable runner-up does many things, and pathogen detection is a small part of their overall game. In fact, if they were effectively targeting the proposed MMTC market, one might surmise they should be a lot bigger than $200M. But it makes sense when you consider the small market they really serve.
"Neogen offers a choice of test systems to detect, or enumerate, microorganisms in liquid samples. Neogen’s Colitag (Presence/Absence) Water Test Kit uses an EPA-approved selective and differential medium to detect total coliforms and E. coli in water and liquid samples in as little as 16 hours"
Hmm, I think they would use the word "identify" if they could. Detect and enumerate is basic cytology tech, the sort of stuff I read about when I first researched the MMTC technology.
Here are some more gems from Neogen:
"NeoSEEK is a breakthrough pathogen detection and identification technology that provides next day, DNA-specific test results for seven pathogenic E. coli strains. The technology will initially be provided as a laboratory service. Features of NeoSEEK include:
• Ability to determine multiple gene targets associated with single organisms
• Includes 7 somatic groups of interest
• Detection of virulence factors and their subtypes associated with STEC (shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli )"
Sounds great, but not exactly plug & play materials for the average employee at Jensen or Cargill. They are essentially supplying trained microbiologists and labs, not your local health department or poultry farm. A machine that quickly and accurately identifies Yes/No for the big three food-borne pathogens is still worth its weight in gold. The conditions necessary to ensure a proper methodology for Neogen kits are beyond the scope of food handlers, so Neogen offers the technology "as a laboratory service".
In contrast, by depending on physical fundamentals like predictable laser-aligned backscatter and parabolic reception, size disparity between microbes and photons, and the varied morphology of the microbes, the MMTC technology has the potential to be the one system that combines a user-friendly interface and cutting-edge accuracy. The video posted by SGR shows a system that scans and identifies from a simple Windows interface. How many times have we seen an amazing technology take off because they found a way to package (take your pick) photography/printing/graphic design/drafting/accounting/tax preparation/data-basing/music recording/film with a convenient Windows editing bar?
The names of the companies that attached a fundamental need to modern ease and computerized functionality are far better known than Neogen. Names like Adobe, Aurodesk, Logic, are companies that integrated advanced disciplines with modern methods.
Apparently there are other institutional and corporate entities that feel MMTC is on a similar path.
AI
