Friday 20 Jun 2008 @ 11:22
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Science and Technology Facilities Council
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Immediate blood clotting analysis – at the doctor’s surgery
Immediate and accurate tests to diagnose and monitor bleeding and blood clotting disorders could soon be available at every GP’s surgery. Microvisk Technologies Limited, a spin-out company of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), has secured investment worth £1.025m, enabling the company to further develop its patented technology that will provide rapid, point-of-care and even home testing for blood clotting analysis, with laboratory accuracy.
Microvisk’s blood clotting measurement device is primarily aimed at patients who take anti-clotting drugs, such as Warfarin, also known as ‘anti-coagulants’. For these patients, frequent blood testing is a necessity, which means that hundreds of thousands of tests are carried out every year in the UK alone. Anti-coagulant drugs reduce the blood’s ability to form clots. Although blood clotting is essential to prevent serious bleeding in the case of skin cuts, clots that occur inside blood vessels can block the flow of blood to major organs, causing heart attacks and strokes. However, because anti-coagulants reduce the blood’s ability to clot, they can increase the patient’s risk of severe external or internal bleeding or blood loss. It is therefore essential that the blood is accurately monitored so that the correct dosage of medication required can be calculated exactly.
Microvisk’s technology means that a doctor will be able to perform a blood coagulation test by measuring the viscosity, or thickness, of blood in a patient with laboratory-standard accuracy from his own surgery. The heart of the Microvisk system is a micro sensor that is less than a millimetre in size. The sensor is created using a microscopic cantilever device, which bends when heated. The degree and the speed at which the cantilever device bends is indicative of the thickness of the blood surrounding the sensor. A hand held measuring instrument provides an immediate read-out of results which can be downloaded directly onto a computer. These miniature devices are cheap to manufacture in large quantities and are therefore disposable. Unlike other conventional sensors, the measurements can be made with a very small blood sample, causing less pain and tissue damage to the patient.
John Curtis, Chief Executive at Microvisk said: “Medical diagnostics is rapidly moving towards more effective and immediate testing for patients and away from the traditional, lengthy processes of sampling at a doctor’s surgery and getting the results back from a lab weeks later. Microvisk’s revolutionary new technology provides instant testing and analysis to measure blood clotting, using just a pin prick of blood. This is an easier, quicker and less intrusive approach to measure whether a patient is receiving the correct treatment dosage. The market for testing patients on Warfarin is huge, with a global value at over $2.25bn.”
Founded by CLIK, the wholly owned technology exploitation company of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Microvisk’s technology is based on STFC’s extensive expertise in microstructures. Dr Tim Bestwick, Chief Executive of CLIK said: “This is a really exciting example of how ground-breaking science can be used to meet society’s real needs, with direct benefits to both UK economy and our society’s health and wellbeing.”
The £1.025m investment included contributions from Synergis Technologies, Midven Limited, The Rainbow Seed Fund and a number of private investors and venture capitalists.
Images available:
1. Electron microscope image of the microfabricated cantilever device.
2. Microfabricated cantilever device (abstract image).
For further information about the Science & Technology Facilities Council:
Wendy Taylor MCIPR
Press Officer
STFC Daresbury Laboratory
Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus
Daresbury
Warrington
Cheshire
WA4 4AD
Email: w.j.taylor@dl.ac.uk
Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council ensures the UK retains its leading place on the world stage by delivering world-class science; accessing and hosting international facilities; developing innovative technologies; and increasing the socio-economic impact of its research through effective knowledge exchange partnerships.
The Council has a broad science portfolio including Astronomy, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, Space Science, Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron Sources and High Power Lasers. In addition the Council manages and operates three internationally renowned laboratories:
• The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire
• The Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire
• The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh
The Council gives researchers access to world-class facilities and funds the UK membership of international bodies such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It also contributes money for the UK telescopes overseas on La Palma, Hawaii, Australia and in Chile, and the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, which includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
The Council distributes public money from the Government to support scientific research. Between 2007 and 2008 we will invest approximately £678 million.
About CLIK
Central Laboratory Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Limited (‘CLIK’) is the wholly-owned technology exploitation company of the Science & Technology Facilities Council. CLIK has the exclusive rights to the commercial exploitation of STFC's intellectual property at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory (DL) in Cheshire and the Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) in Edinburgh. Working closely with the technical inventors, the CLIK team progresses individual projects through various business models to the point of implementation as commercial licenses or spin-out companies.
Microvisk’s blood clotting measurement device is primarily aimed at patients who take anti-clotting drugs, such as Warfarin, also known as ‘anti-coagulants’. For these patients, frequent blood testing is a necessity, which means that hundreds of thousands of tests are carried out every year in the UK alone. Anti-coagulant drugs reduce the blood’s ability to form clots. Although blood clotting is essential to prevent serious bleeding in the case of skin cuts, clots that occur inside blood vessels can block the flow of blood to major organs, causing heart attacks and strokes. However, because anti-coagulants reduce the blood’s ability to clot, they can increase the patient’s risk of severe external or internal bleeding or blood loss. It is therefore essential that the blood is accurately monitored so that the correct dosage of medication required can be calculated exactly.
Microvisk’s technology means that a doctor will be able to perform a blood coagulation test by measuring the viscosity, or thickness, of blood in a patient with laboratory-standard accuracy from his own surgery. The heart of the Microvisk system is a micro sensor that is less than a millimetre in size. The sensor is created using a microscopic cantilever device, which bends when heated. The degree and the speed at which the cantilever device bends is indicative of the thickness of the blood surrounding the sensor. A hand held measuring instrument provides an immediate read-out of results which can be downloaded directly onto a computer. These miniature devices are cheap to manufacture in large quantities and are therefore disposable. Unlike other conventional sensors, the measurements can be made with a very small blood sample, causing less pain and tissue damage to the patient.
John Curtis, Chief Executive at Microvisk said: “Medical diagnostics is rapidly moving towards more effective and immediate testing for patients and away from the traditional, lengthy processes of sampling at a doctor’s surgery and getting the results back from a lab weeks later. Microvisk’s revolutionary new technology provides instant testing and analysis to measure blood clotting, using just a pin prick of blood. This is an easier, quicker and less intrusive approach to measure whether a patient is receiving the correct treatment dosage. The market for testing patients on Warfarin is huge, with a global value at over $2.25bn.”
Founded by CLIK, the wholly owned technology exploitation company of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Microvisk’s technology is based on STFC’s extensive expertise in microstructures. Dr Tim Bestwick, Chief Executive of CLIK said: “This is a really exciting example of how ground-breaking science can be used to meet society’s real needs, with direct benefits to both UK economy and our society’s health and wellbeing.”
The £1.025m investment included contributions from Synergis Technologies, Midven Limited, The Rainbow Seed Fund and a number of private investors and venture capitalists.
Images available:
1. Electron microscope image of the microfabricated cantilever device.
2. Microfabricated cantilever device (abstract image).
For further information about the Science & Technology Facilities Council:
Wendy Taylor MCIPR
Press Officer
STFC Daresbury Laboratory
Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus
Daresbury
Warrington
Cheshire
WA4 4AD
Email: w.j.taylor@dl.ac.uk
Tel Number: 01925 603232
Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council ensures the UK retains its leading place on the world stage by delivering world-class science; accessing and hosting international facilities; developing innovative technologies; and increasing the socio-economic impact of its research through effective knowledge exchange partnerships.
The Council has a broad science portfolio including Astronomy, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, Space Science, Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron Sources and High Power Lasers. In addition the Council manages and operates three internationally renowned laboratories:
• The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire
• The Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire
• The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh
The Council gives researchers access to world-class facilities and funds the UK membership of international bodies such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It also contributes money for the UK telescopes overseas on La Palma, Hawaii, Australia and in Chile, and the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, which includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
The Council distributes public money from the Government to support scientific research. Between 2007 and 2008 we will invest approximately £678 million.
About CLIK
Central Laboratory Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Limited (‘CLIK’) is the wholly-owned technology exploitation company of the Science & Technology Facilities Council. CLIK has the exclusive rights to the commercial exploitation of STFC's intellectual property at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory (DL) in Cheshire and the Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) in Edinburgh. Working closely with the technical inventors, the CLIK team progresses individual projects through various business models to the point of implementation as commercial licenses or spin-out companies.
