Fully integrated and automated platform for neonatal sepsis

In this project the implementation and clinical validation of a fully integrated and automated platform for the parallel detection of neonatal sepsis markers and a panel of sepsis-causing bacteria from a whole blood sample was achieved.

In this project the implementation and clinical validation of a fully integrated and automated platform for the parallel detection of neonatal sepsis markers and a panel of sepsis-causing bacteria from a whole blood sample was achieved.

For the first time, it is possible to run a fast automated routine diagnosis of neonatal sepsis permitting a timely and especially specific treatment. This reduces the unspecific use of antibiotics and leads to a targeted and thus more effective treatment. It also has the potential to reduce neonatal mortality and ensure appropriate treatment for one of the most vulnerable patient cohorts in the medical setting: newborns.

The system is based on a centrifugal microfluidic platform and an inventive foil-technology for production of the disposables, which is scalable to industrial production. This enables a sepsis diagnosis based on a “insert sample and press start” process.

Read more on the Horizon 2020 website