TNO: PhenFlex Test

Have you ever wondered how healthy you actually are? What if we tell you that it is possible to measure your metabolic health with a milkshake…

Our client, TNO, takes a leading position in quantifying metabolic health and is set on standardizing this quantification. To this purpose, TNO developed the PhenFlex test: a mixed-meal challenge test containing high amounts of fat, proteins and carbohydrates. This meal acts as a stressor to various metabolic systems as their homeostasis is disrupted after consumption. The way your organs are disrupted by the challenge, measured by tracking various biomarkers, is seen as a quantifiable measure your health.

At the moment, the PhenFlex test is too complex and elaborate which makes it unfit for broader application. Therefore, TNO asked us to develop a cheaper, faster and more widely available version of the PhenFlex test. Secondly, an analysis will be done of possible users of the proposed test. When the most relevant and appropriate target group is selected, the challenge test will be experimentally validated. Finally, a business plan will be developed, focusing on how to get the new challenge test marketed and how to make it available to the selected target group.

When this new challenge test is put into practice, people can gain insight into their health status and determine whether preventive actions need to be taken. Subsequently, people can undergo personalised dietary interventions to optimise their health and can actually test whether the applied interventions have been effective. All together, this project strives to increase public health.