Rapid, point-of-care diagnosis of sepsis
Sepsis(opens in new window), a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body’s response to an infection, affects nearly 49 million people every year. More worrying is the fact that it kills more people than any other medical condition – even cancer and coronary disease. Treating sepsis with antimicrobials(opens in new window) is crucial for survival, but the real key is early and accurate diagnosis. In fact, research shows that the chance of survival drops by 7.6 % each hour the disease is allowed to progress. Unfortunately, medicine lacks the appropriate point-of-care(opens in new window) solutions for fast, affordable and effective sepsis management. “Clinicians currently don’t have the technology needed to conduct multiplexed and fully quantitative diagnostic tests at the point of care with high sensitivity,” says Dimitris Tsiokos, a researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki(opens in new window) and founder and CEO of bialoom(opens in new window), a Cypriot start-up that uses optical chips to address the needs of point-of-care diagnostics. Tsiokos led a team of researchers dedicated to closing this technology gap. With the support of the EU-funded SepsiCare project, bialoom proposed an accessible, fully quantitative and multiplexed diagnostic device capable of accelerating the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis next to the patient and at a fraction of current costs. “Our solution relies on a novel optical biochip(opens in new window) that combines silicon photonic circuits(opens in new window), plasmonic waveguides(opens in new window) and microfluidics(opens in new window) to simultaneously measure a panel of key disease indicators from just a small volume of blood,” explains Tsiokos. “This allows healthcare providers to have immediate access to actionable test results at an affordable price, significantly accelerating sepsis diagnosis, therapy selection and assessment of treatment – all within minutes and right at the point of care.”
A clear need
The main purpose of the SepsiCare project was to better understand the market demand for sepsis diagnostics, investigate the device’s commercial feasibility and optimise it accordingly. To do this, researchers conducted an in-depth competitive analysis, studied stakeholder and end-user needs, reviewed all rules and regulations relating to commercialising a medical device and mapped out cost and cash flow predictions. “This work made clear that sepsis is a complicated clinical condition with limited diagnostic and monitoring tools available and that the SepsiCare concept is a step in the right direction,” adds Tsiokos.
Ready to help save lives
Thanks to the support of EU funding, the SepsiCare device is now well-positioned to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis and, in doing so, help save lives. In fact, despite some challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers succeeded in getting the SepsiCare device validated and accepted by buyers in three European countries. “We are convinced that our photonic biosensor technology can help not only with diagnosing and treating sepsis, but also in detecting nearly any kind of disease-related biomolecules,” concludes Tsiokos. Researchers are working to further prove the SepsiCare concept through more technical and preclinical data. They are also redesigning the technology prototype to better meet end-user needs, an effort that is supported by diagnostic clinical experts and key opinion leaders. To support these initiatives, the research team is currently pursuing EIC Accelerator(opens in new window) and venture capital funding. They also secured an additional EUR 500 000 in seed funding from the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus(opens in new window).
