The lives of millions of people with chronic lung diseases could be transformed by an invention that is being tested in Stoke-on-Trent as a result of a unique partnership with a leading hi-tech company that usually specialises in aerospace, defence and security.
Professor Monica Spiteri, of the Directorate of Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (UHNS), came up with the idea of testing saliva as a means of monitoring the everyday condition of patients with serious lung conditions, especially during flare-ups of disease.
Flare-ups – or exacerbations – of diseases like emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma, a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, not only cause regular disruption to patients’ daily lives but are also the second biggest cause of emergency hospital admissions.
Early recognition of an impending flare-up could alert patients and the GPs, consultants and nurses caring for them to begin or change treatment, which could avoid them being rushed into hospital.
QinetiQ, which provides technical advice to customers around the world in the aerospace, defence and security markets, has produced the prototype ‘respiratory biosensor’ at its technology centre in Malvern, Worcestershire. The biosensor is now being fine-tuned ready to begin clinical trials at the UHNS in Stoke-on-Trent in July.
The innovation follows a significant investment by Advanced Sensors Innovation Programme (ASIP), a joint venture between QinetiQ and Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency.
MidTECH, the West Midlands NHS innovations hub, brought the hospital trust and QinetiQ together in a collaborative arrangement that has enabled QinetiQ scientists and NHS clinicians to develop the project. MidTECH has also arranged patent protection for Professor Spiteri’s ideas.
Monica Spiteri, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UHNS, said: “The arrival of our prototype respiratory biosensor is a landmark step in the development of future near-patient technology that could make a big difference for monitoring patients with lung disease – for example, in managing patients with flare-ups of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
“There are an estimated 29 million sufferers of COPD around the world. At the moment the only ways of monitoring the progress of COPD are spirometry machines, which measure how fast and how much a patient breathes out, and monitors which analyse exhaled breath. However, these tests are not sensitive enough to predict flare-ups or guide treatment.
“Saliva analysis is currently used in other fields, such as testing for alcohol and drug levels – but we are among the first teams in the world to develop it to monitor the progression of COPD and other lung conditions. Using saliva is far more convenient and less invasive for the patient than having to give a blood sample.”
Rebecca Garrod-Waters, director of innovation at Advantage West Midlands, said: “This project again highlights the technology strengths and innovation of West Midlands businesses – capabilities which will help them to grow in difficult economic conditions.
“The Advanced Sensors Innovation Programme has applied QinetiQ’s renowned sensors expertise to create new products. The respiratory biosensor is a great example of where these capabilities are being used to address a major health issue affecting the lives of many sufferers and in doing so creating a new market for high-tech manufacturing.”
The new technology works by measuring bio-markers – proteins whose concentration reflects the severity or presence of disease – in saliva. Professor Spiteri and her team of research nurses, hospital specialists and GPs with a special interest in lung disease are now preparing for the clinical trials.
Tests are currently being carried out to refine the portable machine before patient sample testing begins.
Dr Mary Haigh, QinetiQ’s exploitation manager for the project, said: “We are keen to get involved in projects that can find alternative uses and markets for the technology that we develop. This project brought together QinetiQ’s world-class expertise in high sensitivity micro-systems for the detection of biological and chemical materials with UHNS’s track record in the analysis of saliva.
“The result is a biosensor that incorporates leading edge chip-based technology and optical sensors and anything else for the diagnosis and detection of bio-markers associated with respiratory disease.”
In due course the technology will be further miniaturised to produce a ‘smart’, handheld device with its own in-built ‘lab on a chip’ to enable patients to monitor their own condition in the comfort of their home.
David Gleaves, chief executive of MidTECH, said: “This is a unique project, linking together the expertise of QinetiQ’s laboratories with the NHS to produce a device with so much potential to help COPD patients throughout the world.
“The production of the biosensor is a milestone towards helping these patients to manage their own condition and, at the same time, reduce the pressure upon Accident & Emergency departments.”
Julia Bridgewater, chief executive of University Hospital of North Staffordshire, said: “I’m delighted with the work that Professor Monica Spiteri is doing in the Trust. This is incredibly important to our local population. This work demonstrates our commitment in taking a lead in providing the best possible care for people with these disabling conditions.”