So goes the ancient English proverb marking how the emotional poetry of the moment is revealed through the light in our eyes.
But today in the 21st century, scientists at two companies based at West Virginia University's new business incubator are looking in on the fact that our eyes can blink out much, much more than subtle, visual nuances related to matters of the heart.
The eyes, as MD Biotech and Auto Gentox are showing us, can reveal whole reams of telling medical data: data that's indispensable both in public health at home and for soldiers in the war zone.
Both companies were founded by Dr. Chris Kolanko, a WVU-trained research scientist who has spent his career coming up with better diagnostic tools to keep civilians and soldiers healthy. The Weirton native, who holds a doctorate in genetics from WVU, returned to his alma mater after an eight-year hitch as a science officer in the U.S. Navy.
While in uniform, Kolanko did extensive research developing "biosensor" devices, those tools that can look into our eyes and our cells for signs of illness and trauma, to determine whether a soldier has been exposed to chemical or biological agents on the battlefield.
His research can exist easily in the military and civilian worlds, he said.
The internal composition of the eye, for example, can show if a soldier is a chemical weapons casualty, or whether he's suffered internal injuries from the concussion of an incoming mortar round blast a hundred yards away.
Equally as important, the eyes can show us if an elderly West Virginian has been suffering from unchecked diabetes or high blood pressure.
Be it the battlefield or his back yard, Kolanko said, the idea is to come up with such devices that are portable, easy to use, and accurate.
"When
you can quickly and accurately diagnose the problem," he
said, "you can treat it, and make it better."
And the best part is, he said, he and his colleagues (all with degrees from WVU) are almost there.
MD Biotech's pioneering scanning technology got raves in the industry at trade shows from Nashville, Tennessee, to Krakow, Poland, just months after the company was founded in January 2001.
Auto Gentox is taking that technology a few notches higher.
Today, both companies are working with WVU's Eye Institute to develop a handheld device to perform highly technical eye scans-one that practically anyone can use.
"You won't have to be a PhD," Kolanko said of the device that's expected to be in its prototype phase early this year. The idea is to get this in the hands of anyone. Think of what it will be able to do for a medic."
He sees the device being used by everyone from paramedics at an accident scene to lab technicians in rural clinics.
"We're a West Virginia company," he said. "We're proud to be associated with WVU. And it's a real privilege to be able to help our friends and neighbors."
