COVID-19: Development of novel algorithm-driven digital platform for assessing the Leukocyte ImmunoTest(TM) as a clinical parameter in monitoring vulnerability to coronavirus

Oxford MediStress is developing the advanced Leukocyte ImmunoTest (LIT)(tm) as a rapid (10-minute) fingerprick in vitro blood test to assess how well an individual's immune system is functioning. In previous studies involving patients with a variety of cancers, we have demonstrated the clinical potential of the technique. Results from the recent FORECAST clinical trial at UCLH showed strong correlation between the LIT score and eventual clinical outcome for 70 prostate cancer patients. Recently, OMS has been invited to participate in a COVID-19 study on health care workers and critically-ill coronavirus patients at a London research hospital. In that study the team hopes to demonstrate the potential for the technique for providing an early-warning indicator of poor immune function for frontline NHS healthcare workers in order to determine who is at greatest risk of contracting coronavirus. Eventually, the technique could be used in many other facets of COVID-19 treatment and clinical research, including providing a new and useful clinical parameter for monitoring COVID-19 patients in intensive care, providing a new clinical parameter for assessing immune status for use in developing new COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, and assessing impact of PTSD (which causes immunosuppression) on healthcare workers after the initial pandemic has passed.

In this project the team will develop a novel digital platform to support data analysis. The platform will enable individual assessment of risk/vulnerability based on a number of clinical parameters including the new clinical parameter (LIT) which we have developed. We will develop new mathematical tools and a new smartphone app as part of the project.

In the project extension, following discussions with clinical experts, the team will extend its clinical study to assess neutrophil function using LIT in patients severely ill with COVID-19, and in particular will monitor those in ICU, to determine whether LIT score can provide a new prognostic indication of likely disease severity. The team already has ethics approval for conducting such a study in Birmingham.

The key benefit of this project for the general public is the development of a new rapid test for assessing the strength of an individual's immune system and for monitoring patients severely ill with COVID-19.