The SpectroSens sensor system developed through this project represents a breakthrough in biochemical detection which has the potential to make nations safe from bio threats and enable governments to tackle and prevent outbreaks of human and animal disease.

The need
With globalisation we’ve seen an increased threat from previously obscure diseases such as Ebola and bird flu, as more people travel the globe on a regular basis. The World Bank (2008) has suggested that the global cost of a moderately severe flu pandemic could be $2trillion and kill 71 million people. In this context, early detection and prevention must be a priority.

Globalisation has also brought the notion of bioterrorism to the fore with instances of anthrax by post and ricin on the Japanese underground system bringing home a very real problem.

The results
In this Technology Strategy Board co-funded R&D project, Stratophase, a spin-out company from the University of Southampton, led a consortium to develop optical microchip sensors capable of detecting toxins, viruses and bacteria. The sensor is highly robust and can be miniaturised. As a result it can be made portable and so offer diagnosis – on the spot – vitally important in containing any outbreak. Previously, such work would need a laboratory.

The global point-of-care testing market for human health was worth $10bn in 2006, which is 36% of the in-vitro diagnostics market.

At the sensor’s core is an optical microchip which measures changes in a liquid on its surface. These changes show how antigens bind to antibodies attached to the chip. The sensor produces multiple readings which make it more reliable in its detection. It detects all classes of biological targets, including proteins, viruses and bacteria, regardless of size, on the same microchip.

It is a small, versatile and accurate device which can be used for laboratory analysis, process control or bio-detection. For example, by helping to enable continuous processing in pharmaceutical production rather than batch processing, the sensor could contribute to 30% improvement in efficiencies.

Competitive advantages

SpectroSens offers several commercial advantages:

• It detects minute changes in refractive index, allowing relative composition to be tracked for process control
• A fibre-optic network of multiple sensing points over many kilometres can all be linked to a single readout unit
• It’s immune to electro-magnetic interference
• It’s intrinsically safe for flammable environments
• It measures biological targets directly, without the need for tagging or labelling
• It’s highly sensitive which makes it suitable for critical environments
• It provides simultaneous multiple discrete readings which gives more reliable measurement and detection
• It’s cheap to manufacture
• It’s suitable for hand-held operation.

Innovation Results : Detecting dangerous diseases

Printable version (pdf)  View/Download