Diagnosing sepsis in just a few minutes with a new portable device

It takes a few minutes to have a result, just like a pregnancy test
Credit: Alain Herzog / EPFL 2020

Article Highlights

EPFL researchers have developed a highly sensitive and portable optical biosensor that stands to accelerate the diagnosis of fatal conditions like sepsis. It could be used by ambulances and hospitals to improve the triage process and save lives
Sepsis claims one life every four seconds. It is the primary cause of death in hospitals, and one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide. Sepsis is associated with the body’s inflammatory response to a bacterial infection and progresses extremely rapidly: every hour that goes by before it is properly diagnosed and treated increases the mortality rate by nearly 8%. Time is critical with sepsis, but the tests currently used in hospitals can take up to 72 hours to provide a diagnosis
Researchers at the Laboratory of Bionanophotonic Systems (BIOS) at EPFL’s School of Engineering have just unveiled a new technology. They have developed an optical biosensor that slashes the sepsis diagnosis time from several days to just a few minutes. Their novel approach draws on recent developments in nanotechnology and on light effects at a nano scale to create a highly portable, easy-to-use device that can rapidly detect sepsis biomarkers in a patient’s bloodstream. And their device takes just a few minutes to deliver a result, like a pregnancy test
Because the biosensor uses a unique plasmonics technology, it can be built from small, inexpensive components, yet it can achieve an accuracy on par with gold-standard laboratory methods. The device can screen a large panel of biomarkers and be adapted for the rapid diagnosis of a number of diseases
“We believe our low-cost, compact biosensor would be a valuable piece of equipment in ambulances and certain hospital wards,” says Hatice Altug, the head of BIOS. Scientists already have possible applications in mind. “There is an urgent need for such promising biosensors so that doctors can diagnosis sepsis accurately and quickly, thereby keeping patient mortality to a minimum,” say Anna Fàbrega and Juan José González, lead doctors at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital

The Complete Story: Portable device helps doctors diagnose sepsis faster

Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Go deeper with Bing News on:

Sepsis

What is sepsis and how to avoid it
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the body overreacts to an infection and attacks the tissues and organs of the body.
We may soon have a faster test for sepsis: Study demonstrates ultra-rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing method
A new method for identifying the pathogens involved in sepsis cases, which could help to select optimal therapeutics, is reported in Nature. The test has the potential to reduce the turnaround times ...
Blood Test That Detects Sepsis in 10 Minutes by Squeezing Blood Cells – Hailed as ‘the Holy Grail’
The test works by forcing a small amount of blood through a tiny tube to see if the white, immune-fighting cells change shape.
Life-saving new sepsis test has ‘100% match rate’ with results in record time
SCIENTISTS have developed a new life-saving sepsis test that produces results in record time with an “100 per cent match rate”. It can take days for current tests to identify the ...
Teen Doesn't Realize She's Experiencing Symptoms of Septic Shock. Now She's Living as Quadruple Amputee (Exclusive)
Amalie, on TikTok as @amalie.moira, tells PEOPLE how her Crohn's disease masked the early warning signs of septic shock and what it's been like since becoming a quadruple amputee.

Go deeper with Google Headlines on:

Sepsis

[google_news title=”” keyword=”sepsis” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]

Go deeper with Bing News on:

Diagnosing sepsis

Blood Test That Detects Sepsis in 10 Minutes by Squeezing Blood Cells – Hailed as ‘the Holy Grail’
The test works by forcing a small amount of blood through a tiny tube to see if the white, immune-fighting cells change shape.
Farmer nearly loses his leg after insect bite leads to devastating sepsis symptoms
A farmer nearly lost his leg after he was diagnosed with sepsis following an insect bite. Simon Clayton, 53, fought for his life in hospital for days following the bite, believed to have happened on ...
Sepsis tests take days, putting patients at risk. A new method may cut wait time
A faster way to figure out what bacteria is causing a potentially deadly bloodstream infection could let doctors treat it more quickly and efficiently.
New, faster sepsis test could save lives, scientists say
Preliminary experiments suggest that a new test could diagnose bacterial infections that cause sepsis days faster than conventional approaches, with potentially lifesaving consequences.
Ultrafast sepsis test pinpoints treatment in just 13 hours
The most time-consuming step in diagnosing sepsis is the first one: culturing a patient’s blood sample. Because pathogens in the blood are so few in number, it usually takes about a day for them to ...