Awaiting Public Project Summary

To develop scalable smart material coatings for large scale production of microfluidic medical devices.

The Q-TB project addresses some fundermental issues in the fight against tuberculosis. Firstly (SPEED & QUALITY) the project will deliver a technology that will enable patients to receive referral standard molecular diagnostic results within minutes, as they wait with their treating physician. Secondly (PORTABLE), if the patient is in a rural loctation, such as a township in South Africa, or in a mountain location in Peru, or in a remote part of Asia with no electricity, laboratory, clinic, or hospital nearnby, the size of the device (approximately the size of a 80's 'brick' mobile phone) and battery operation will enable even a technican or health worker (EASE OF USE) to perform a complex diagnosis. Thirdly (DRUG RESISTANCE), the device can test for many different things at once and this project will develop tests for both diagnosis of tuberculosis and test which drugs will work best to treat the disease. This complex testing system benefits from QuantuMDx's novel and hi-tech nanotechnologies that can perform complex tests in 10-15 minutes, when normally they hours to days, the expertise of Microsens in processing complex samples such as sputum, and the in depth tuberculosis knowlegde and testing experience of St Georges' Hospital, London, WHO TB group at Stellenbosch Univeristy, South Africa and several charities and NGOs throughout the world.

This project is concerned with the development of a fully integrated, low test cost, sample to result medical device that will enable a histopathologist (or a technician) to perform multiplex genotyping and tumour staging & profiling, within minutes, from formalin fixed &/or fresh tissue samples, providing a molecular adjunct to a histopathologist's standard practice. The device will automate sample prep & DNA sequencing at the press of a single button, following the introduction of a sample. The tissue sample is processed using a number of novel & innovative but proven microfluidic and nanotechnologies that allow for massive multiplexing potential. The device will enable fast turnaround of high quality genotyping that integrates with established clinical practice . Furthermore, the ability to rapidly profile & stage a tumour or identify genetic mutations will lead to improvements in patient outcomes, reduce patient anxiety & result in cost savings in treatment programmes.