‘The Unicorn' at UNTHSC is a gamechanger, say Alzheimer's researchers

Researchers say 'the Unicorn,' their invention at the University of Texas Health Science Center, is a game-changer in the realm of Alzheimer's Disease research, and the only one of its kind in the entire world.

The machine speeds up blood testing and increases capacity-- exponentially.

“It’s mythical. It doesn’t exist elsewhere," said Sid O'Bryant, a professor at UNTHSC and executive director of their Institute for Translational Research.

The brainchild of O'Bryant, who's been on a mission since grad school, when he was working at a dementia clinic.

“I was seeing patients that were taking 12, 24, 36 months... even in a VA system to get to us," he recalled.

At the same time, he got a call from his father that O'Bryant's grandmother wasn't well. It would take them over a year to finally get her diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Between those two experiences, he said, he realized the system was broken.

“I think the entire medical system failed her. I think I failed her. And I don’t think that’s OK. I think we can do better," O'Bryant said.

Over 20 years later, he and his team launched the Unicorn, in partnership with Hamilton Robotics.

It takes hundreds of patients' blood samples and screens them for blood biomarkers.

“With those biomarkers, we can identify people who do not have Alzheimer's Disease, and then others can be identified as high risk, and they can get information very quickly about their neurological health," explained David Julouvich, who helped program the Unicorn.

The machine processes these tests much faster than a typical lab, where they're done manually.

“I would say that what we used to do in a week, we can now do in a day," Julouvich said.

He said a typical lab can process up to 72 tests a week.

“Here, I’m going to have the results for up to a thousand people in one week," he said.

The automation also cuts down on human error, researchers say, increasing test accuracy.

It's all being used to further their studies on brain health, said O'Bryant, and the data will be published for the world to use.

“How does diabetes impact the blood test for Alzheimer’s? In reality, at this point, we don’t know," said O'Bryant. “The things that we’re doing are explicitly designed to start teasing this out, so we can do that precision medicine-based approaches, so we can treat your Alzheimer’s Disease."

He said they are always looking for participants, especially among communities of color.

He said 90-95% of people enrolled in Alzheimer's studies have been white, wealthy, and highly educated.

“We need to know what it looks like among all communities," he said. “We’re trying to represent the entire DFW community in hopes that we can also represent much more of the entire United States community.”

The study accepts people 30 years old and up, and you can learn more here.

O'Bryant said he's already working on building another machine to help hospitals and clinics process more of their patients' tests, faster.

“I think this can help everyone’s abuelo, abuela. We can do that. And we will. Unequivocally, we will," he said.

Seeing the Unicorn whir stirs up O'Bryant's heart.

“I had someone text me yesterday and say, my grandmother would be proud," he said.

While it doesn't have glitter or wings, he hopes it can offer other families a happier ending-- even if there is no cure, yet.

"This machine and machines like this can get care to families and loved ones so much faster. We can get in the early stages. We can get to where we don’t have to watch our loved ones suffer for so long before we know what’s going on. That's not OK," he said.

O'Bryant said he recommends five things for folks to reduce their risk of Alzheimer's and other brain diseases:

1. Diet: "A heart-healthy diet is a brain-healthy diet," he said.
2. Medical conditions: Get things like diabetes and hypertension under control. "All of these things increase risk later on for poor brain aging," O'Bryant said.
3. Mentally active: O'Bryant recommends doing things like crossword puzzles or even reading.
4. Socially active: O'Bryant said humans are not supposed to be alone, and he encourages folks to engage with family and friends.
5. Physical activity: O'Bryant said not only does exercising reduce the risk of other diseases that are risk factors for brain diseases but "exercise is good for your brain at a basic molecular level."