Rapid detection and categorisation of organisms from whole blood in cases of sepsis

Momentum Bioscience was founded to develop rapid tests for clinical specimens within the hospital microbiology laboratory, supporting the global fight against antibiotic resistance and the need for improved antimicrobial stewardship. Sepsis (blood poisoning) kills more people than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined but symptoms of sepsis are frequently non-specific, leading to a delay in diagnosis. The standard laboratory test for sepsis is blood culture, which detects a large range of germs that can be found in the patient’s blood but can sometimes take several days to give a result. Our study will look at the feasibility of detecting and categorising these germs in just 3 hours, helping doctors choose the right antibiotic for the patient more quickly. This project will explore new approaches to capturing and concentrating germs from blood so they can be detected using molecular technology already developed by Momentum.