10022994Rapid Point of Care Sepsis Diagnostic PlatformClosedInvestment AcceleratorInnovate UKSepsis (blood poisoning) is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. It occurs when an infectious organism is present in large numbers in the blood stream, overwhelming the body's immune system and leading to generalised whole-body inflammatory response and shutting down of the vital organs. Each year in the UK there are 343,000 diagnoses of sepsis affecting 200,000 patients. Of the 200,000 annual sepsis patients in UK hospitals 73,000 die as a result of the condition: a mortality rate of 37%. Many of the 127,000 survivors will go on to experience serious life-altering effects. Globally there are 49m cases, 29m patients and 11m deaths from Sepsis each year, and the numbers of cases (in the UK and around the world) are increasing at an average annual rate of 10%. Instances of Sepsis are as common as a heart attack, and in the UK, sepsis kills more people each year than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. Early presentation and diagnosis are vital and can increase the chances of survival significantly. However, limitations in current diagnostic methods present a major obstacle to improving patient outcomes in a condition that is time critical. The current gold-standard diagnostic test for sepsis is blood cultures, which require a minimum of 2 and up to 5 days to provide results. A large proportion of patients do not survive this delay: in many cases patients will become critically ill before the results of the tests become available to clinicians. Great North Research & Innovation (GNRI) are developing a point of care diagnostics platform for the rapid identification of the causative pathogens in sepsis. The platform provides highly accurate and clinically relevant results in a fraction of the time: hours, instead of days. The test is convenient and affordable enough to be used wherever sepsis is suspected. Benefits of the GNRI platform include: \*The rapid detection of causative pathogens, shortening delays to targeted treatment thus reducing the risk of mortality and of complications arising from sepsis \*Earlier commencement of specific therapies, eliminating the need for nonspecific treatments and combating antibiotic resistance \*An expected reduction in the duration of hospitalisation, time in ICU and a greatly reduced burden on hospital laboratory facilities \*A decreased potential for complex future care needs arising from sepsis