10157778Enhance Reproducibility of Vancomycin Biosensor for Point-of-Care testingClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UKSepsis, a leading cause of preventable mortality, affects over 250,000 people annually in the UK, with a mortality rate of 29% and a significant healthcare burden of £10 billion. Vancomycin (Vancomycin), a critical treatment for sepsis, poses major dosing challenges due to its narrow therapeutic index and variability in blood-protein binding. Current monitoring methods rely on laboratory-based tests that require multiple steps, skilled personnel, and over 6 hours for results. These delays contribute to poor therapeutic outcomes, including nephrotoxicity, antimicrobial resistance, and increased hospital stays, costing the NHS £196 million annually for sepsis-related cases. ZiO Health's Vancomycin Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (Vancomycin-TDM) Point-of-Care (POC) Device addresses this need by providing rapid, on-site vancomycin level analysis in 3--5 minutes. Clinically validated(TRL-8) through a Diagnostic-Accuracy Study, the device has demonstrated comparable results to centralised laboratory testing. However, standardizing?aling production of our test cartridges is challenging. We have already identified key factors contributing to performance variability, but addressing these issues requires access to specialized equipment and expertise beyond our current capabilities. This project aims to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify and resolve inconsistencies in our biosensor fabrication process, enabling optimized and standardized manufacturing and bridging the gap between low-volume production and scalable manufacturing for our POC-Vancomycin-TDM device. In partnership with National-Physical-Laboratory(NPL) and Royce-Institute, we will systematically analyze each step of biosensor-fabrication. Using state-of-the-art measurement techniques, we will identify where variations arise and determine modifications to improve consistency. The project will follow an iterative approach---analyzing surfaces at key stages, implementing fabrication-process changes, and re-validating improvements to ensure robustness. This project directly supports the commercialization of our POC-Vancomycin-TDM-Device. We will establish a robust production pipeline, enabling us to bring the product to market at scale. It will significantly enhance our manufacturing efficiency, reducing costs associated with fabrication, accelerating market entry, and strengthening our competitive position by allowing us to lower market-price, supporting wider NHS adoption. Additionally, the solution is transferable across other high-impact therapeutic areas in ZiO Health's portfolio, including antibiotics, anti-retrovirals, and chemotherapy drugs.