Umeå Researchers want to uncover blood doping
For decades, researchers have tried to develop a reliable method to expose elite athletes who use blood doping. In Umeå, they are now turning to AI to create a test that can easily catch the cheaters.
“This is a tough problem to crack,” says Christer Malm, Professor of Sports Medicine at Umeå University.
Umeå is at the forefront of research on blood doping. Christer Malm, Professor of Sports Medicine at Umeå University, started working on this already in 2006. He is determined to solve the mystery of how blood doping can be more easily detected.
“Well, it’s the stubbornness of an athlete showing through. The problem can be solved,” says Christer Malm, who is also the founder of the company ProTest Diagnostics.
Received a Million in Funding from WADA
As early as the 2010s, a test kit was developed to identify changes in the molecular structure of blood caused by blood doping. But when the test was about to be launched commercially, challenges arose with validation.
Now the Umeå-based company has received just over 1.2 million kronor from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to further develop the test.
By using AI technology, the plan is to pre-sort blood cells to identify abnormalities that occur when blood is frozen and then reintroduced into the body.
The project, which will run for a year, means the company plans to hire two part-time employees to extract and analyze data from blood samples.
