New Microarray Technology Overcomes Limitations of Standard Lyme Disease Testing
Jason Barker, ND, details how Vibrant’s platform raises diagnostic sensitivity from 63% to 100%, ensuring more accurate detection and faster treatment for Lyme disease and tick-borne infections.
A newly developed customizable multiplex protein microarray is poised to significantly improve the diagnosis of tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, by offering faster and more accurate detection of multiple pathogens in a single test. This innovative platform, created by researchers at Vibrant, can host up to 400 antigens, greatly surpassing traditional diagnostic methods in scope and sensitivity.
Unlike standard two-tier testing, which typically detects a limited range of antigens with lower sensitivity, Vibrant’s microarray technology can analyze IgM and IgG antibody responses across a broad spectrum of infectious agents. In clinical evaluations, the microarray demonstrated improved sensitivity and specificity compared to gold-standard diagnostics, enabling more reliable detection of pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease.
"The standard two-tier technology has a relatively low sensitivity," explained Jason Barker, ND, Clinical Lab Educator at Vibrant Wellness said in part 2part of our interview. "That standard two-tier test has a 63.8% sensitivity. This means if we have 100 people with Lyme disease, that test is only going to find about 64 of them. That’s low, right? That leaves a lot of people in the dark."
Vibrant’s platform, powered by the ImmunoChip, raises this sensitivity to 66%, representing a 2% increase. However, Barker emphasizes that Vibrant’s technology goes further, incorporating additional mechanisms that further enhance diagnostic accuracy.
"One of those things is called Enhanced IgM," said Barker. "When we run these tests—again, these are indirect tests—we're looking at how your body responds to the presence of the bacteria. IgM is really important to detect because it can indicate an acute infection."
To enhance sensitivity, Vibrant measures the IgG response, washes it out of the sample, and retests it. Without the IgG antibodies in the way, the IgM has a better chance of binding, which improves detection. "When we do that, the sensitivity of the test increases to 72.3%. That means we can now detect about eight more cases per 100 people, which is a big deal," Barker added. "That’s the whole reason we’re in this—because Lyme disease is a terrible illness. It ruins people’s lives."
Vibrant’s microarray goes beyond what traditional tests can offer. The platform includes 100 different antigens on a small, customizable microchip. While the CDC’s standard two-tier testing uses a small, conservative set of antigens, Vibrant has expanded this selection to include additional antigens that have been under investigation in recent years. The two-tier test has been in use since the 1980s and has changed very little since its inception.
Multiplex protein microarray
Image credits: Jason Barker, ND
"Vibrant has introduced more antigens that can help detect whether a person has been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi," Barker noted. "When we combine the ImmunoChip, Enhanced IgM, and those additional investigational antigens, we’ve increased our test’s sensitivity to 100%. That means if you have 100 people with Lyme disease, we can diagnose every single one of them. It’s a pretty incredible technology."
In addition to its enhanced sensitivity, Vibrant’s microarray technology offers a more cost-effective solution. "We can run a lot more samples than with standard two-tier testing. The turnaround time is much quicker," Barker explained. "The goal is to get people diagnosed and treated—so they don’t go untreated."
This breakthrough in diagnostic technology not only addresses the frequent misdiagnosis of non-Lyme tick-borne infections, which is often caused by overlapping symptoms and limited testing, but also streamlines diagnostics by eliminating the need for multiple assays. By detecting a broad range of pathogens simultaneously, Vibrant’s platform offers significant advantages in efficiency and accuracy.
Meet Barker in part 1 of our interview: New Microarray Platform Aims to Improve Tick-Borne Disease Diagnosis
