Using proprietary technologies and unique combinations of biomarkers, EDX Medical has designed and developed a highly sensitive 20-minute bedside test that can detect and differentiate the presence or absence of bacteria or viral infections, and quantify key molecular markers of the human immune system cytokine cascade in a small blood sample.
The test features:
- Rapid, bedside analysis and cloud-based analytics with secure mobile device reporting for field or hospital use
- Accurate differentiation between viral and bacterial infection to improve antibiotic management
- Unique bedside quantification of sepsis metabolites to guide treatment
- Sensitive early sepsis detection and monitoring response to treatment, validated in paediatrics
The paediatric test panel is based on the results of a clinical trial involving over 3,000 infants and is expected to be available during 2025.
Sepsis causes an estimated 8-11 million deaths worldwide every year. The key to surviving sepsis involves early detection, characterisation and simultaneous tailored treatment of both the cause of the infection and the patient’s own immune reaction.
Despite medical advances over the past decade, global mortality rates remain between 20% and 36%, in and outside the hospital environment. There are around 200,000 hospital admissions and 48,000 deaths attributed to sepsis annually in the UK alone. According to the UK Sepsis Trust, the mortality rate in England due to sepsis stands at 20.3% and an estimated 25% of these deaths could be prevented with timely diagnosis and treatment. In the United States there are approximately 900,000 admissions and 270,000 deaths annually due directly to sepsis
Current clinical diagnosis relies on the measurement of broad physiological parameters and time-consuming lab-based culture of the potential source of infectious microorganisms. Often, valuable time is lost attempting to confirm the source of infection whilst the disease itself uncontrollably ravages the patient.
If proper treatment is not provided rapidly, sepsis can drastically increase in severity over the course of a few hours, driving the need for rapid ‘point of care’ tools which can accurately confirm or exclude and characterise sepsis. The prompt administration of appropriate therapeutics can save lives, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs in both well-developed healthcare systems and in low-resource settings.
The use of panels of multiple biomarkers in a multiplex point of care device. covering both key aspects of the patient response and the source of infection, offers a significant step forward in diagnosis.
