Public Funding for Arete Medical Technologies Ltd

This is a project led by AMT, with co-applicant partner of CLCH NHS Trust, and with manufacturing SME sub-contractors. The solution tackles the major challenges associated with Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRD's). The project heavily involves stakeholders within the NHS and user inputs and aims to develop the Respicorder from an in-clinic prototype towards an at-home remote monitoring and self-management solution, through user-centric design and co-development with clinicians and patients. To generate a full understanding of lung performance, multiple measurements are required. No device currently combines these measurements, and current solutions are expensive or not appropriate for at-home use, for self-management or remote monitoring. CRD's currently have little or no effective solution for such pathways, leading to poor management and high levels of exacerbations (attacks), which in turn lead to expensive treatment costs and increased hospital admissions and emergency visits. The three main challenges are: (i) there is no gold standard measurement, (ii) there are daily changes in condition (comparable to diabetes), and (iii) there are dozens of condition subtypes requiring personalised treatment. Previously, it has not been possible to economically overcome these challenges, but they are surmountable. The Respicorder has proven its core technology and the next stages of progress are for extension towards a viable at-home-use product (manufacturing processes / costs and usability). The device is handheld, portable, and with daily home-use can identify respiratory disease subtypes and predict level of risk through an accompanying Respiratory Digital Hub (RDH). By supporting patients in this way, we can keep people out of hospital, managing their condition better, with more effective treatment.

The base project is a Eureka Eurostars project, collaborating with an SME and university hospital in the Netherlands. Chronic respiratory diseases are a major cause of death, suffering, and healthcare costs. The core problems are: 1) the state of the condition can change daily and 2) the conditions are highly heterogeneous, with variability in inflammation processes, clinical characteristics, and treatment responses. Therefore, we believe early detection and improved treatment selection can only come from multiple, complementary measurements at around a daily frequency. Our focus is on remote monitoring of unstable respiratory patients, although the technology can apply to other respiratory situations. We will make money mainly from a consumable component for our daily-use product. To our customers, improving medical care, targeting treatments effectively, and avoiding expenses from acute attacks justifies purchase. We believe our approach can have a major humanitarian and economic impact on deadly and multi-billion Euro problems. The Respicorder - a portable, connected, multi-measurement product - will be developed to the stage of a respiratory medical device. Second, it will be validated through in vitro and in vivo studies. Thirdly, novel longitudinal studies, uniquely enabled by the product, will be used to further understand lung biology and validate the product's remote monitoring potential. Deliverables include the device design, data package for regulatory clearance, and planning for clinical testbed pilots.

no public description

Chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cause a significant burden to those affected and health system expenditure. There is a great need for new and wider deployment of diagnostics, well recognised by patient charity groups, clinician societies, and healthcare evidence appraisers. This could help identify diseases earlier, personalise treatment plans, and help manage the disease proactively. It has long been known that most of the cost and suffering from these diseases come from short-term attacks or exacerbations. It is more recent that asthma and COPD have been understood to be 'umbrella' terms for a number of disease sub-types, that behave like different diseases. Arete is developing a multi-test diagnostic device for lung conditions. While such a device has been proposed before, no such devices have made it to the market. Our product could widen access and frequency to clinical-grade diagnostic tests, giving doctors better information to help manage their patients and reducing overall costs to the NHS and other health systems. This project is to further develop the physical device, and in particular its ability to efficiently and effectively change between testing modes. This development is critical to the performance of the device and future commercial growth of Arete Medical Technologies. The project will consider the design requirements for the device. The device will then be specified, designed, and prototyped to meet these requirements. Thirdly, the device will be tested to ensure it meets the requirements. At this stage, the device should be ready to be used in initial clinical studies. Public funding for this project will increase R&D jobs within the project budget and position the company for further growth on successful completion.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

"This feasibility study project is to understand and develop business strategies for an innovative diagnostic device for chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD. We are developing our device to help doctors make precision medicine decisions. This will help people with respiratory diseases find effective treatments faster and more accurately. Improvements are expected to the overall cost, usability, and access for the device. With our software-driven approach, personalised medicine approaches to diseases like asthma and COPD become possible. By helping to personalise treatment decisions, quality of life, patient outcomes, and overall costs to the health system will be improved. This study will investigate different use cases and market opportunities for our device. We will develop our business and product development plans to meet clinical needs and grow our UK-based startup business. We will be engaging with patients, charities, doctors, academics, and other health-related professionals to understand their needs and values."

This feasibility study project is to develop and evaluate concepts for software-based methods that improve respiratory diagnostic devices. Improvements are expected to the overall cost, usability, and access for the device. With a software-driven approach, personalised medicine approaches to diseases like asthma and COPD become possible. By helping to personalise treatment decisions, quality of life, patient outcomes, and overall costs to the health system will be improved.