University of Liverpool spin-out Sepsis Limited has secured further funding support to test a point of care diagnostic tool for the early detection of sepsis (University of Liverpool, 2017).

SBRI Healthcare has awarded Sepsis Limited £100,000 for the first phase of testing a working prototype of a hand held device that will be used at the patient bedside for rapid diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. The award is part of an NHS England initiative aimed at helping healthcare organisations to improve their flow of patients.

Sepsis is the major cause of death worldwide. In the UK approximately 100,000 people are admitted to hospital with sepsis and around 37,000 people will die as a result of the condition.

Sepsis Limited, which was spun out in 2010, is founded on the ground breaking research of blood specialist Professor Cheng-Hock Toh from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health. The company’s hand-held device can detect abnormal blood chemistry due to bacterial sepsis within minutes of sampling and before standard physiological sepsis is diagnosed. It has been designed to frequently monitor progression of symptoms with a view to improve and measure the appropriate use of antibiotics and collectively meet objectives of the Department of Health’s UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013-2018.

Cheng-Hock Toh, who also provides direct patient care at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said “This new funding is an important step in helping us to translate our research into a bedside test that can quickly diagnose life-threatening sepsis, improve antibiotic usage, and ultimately save lives.”