5th February
Testing has begun on a device that can sniff out the presence of
disease by smell, thanks to a £1.3 million award from the Wellcome
Trust. OdoReader, developed by Chris Probert from the University of
Bristol and Norman Ratcliffe from the University of the West of
England, uses pioneering technology to rapidly diagnose Clostridium
difficile, by reading the odour of stool samples. Clostridium
difficile may cause severe diarrhoea, especially amongst
hospitalised patients.
With the help of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation
Trust, the technology enables gasses emitted from faeces to be
analysed in under an hour, leading to a rapid and inexpensive
diagnosis. Such early detection could reap real health benefits for
millions of people and help prevent the spread of infectious
disease.
Gastro-intestinal diseases afflict over four billion adults and
children each year. Delays in diagnosis can lead to patients being
ill for longer, some may die, many will cost more to treat and
infections may spread to other people. In England and Wales there
are over 50,000 cases of Clostridium difficile each year: this
infection prolongs hospitalisation, is associated with high
morbidity and mortality and costs the NHS £200 million
annually.
The £1.3 million Wellcome Trust Translation Award will cover a
three-year programme of work starting in January 2010. It will
support the development of OdoReader prototypes, which will then be
tested against the industry gold standard method of making the
diagnosis. The final produce will undergo a clinical trial before
becoming available for commercialisation in 2012/13.
Chris Probert, Professor of Gastroenterology at the University
of Bristol, and Consultant Gastroenterologist at University
Hospitals Bristol, said:
For a long time it has been known that stools have a distinctive
and different odour if there is an infection. What OdoReader does
is take this knowledge a step further by comparing the odour of
faeces of patients with those from patients with specific
gastro-intestinal disease to make a rapid diagnosis at point of
care.
Professor Norman Ratcliffe from the University of the West of
England, added:
We expect OdoReader to be a portable device for the diagnosis of
C difficile, however it has potential far beyond that - it
could be used for a range of other gastrointestinal disease as well
as lung and urinary tract diseases too.
Rick Davis, Business Development Manager at the Wellcome Trust,
stated:
˜The Wellcome Trust Translation Awards are designed to
facilitate the development and commercialisation of new healthcare
technologies. OdoReader has shown great promise in early testing
and we are hopeful that this diagnostic platform will prove
valuable in the race against the superbugs.
Christine Perry, Assistant Chief Nurse and Director of Infection
Prevention and Control for University Hospitals Bristol, said:
˜The Trust is very pleased to be involved in this exciting
development. The technology has real potential for vastly improving
our ability to prevent infections and provide high quality care for
our patients.
