Date: 2012-11-05
Type of information: Grant
Company: Intelligent Fingerprinting (UK)
Investors: Biomedical Catalyst Fund (UK)
Amount: £425,000 (€ 533 350)
Funding type: grant
Planned used: The grant will be used to improve drug screening services in hospital A&E and coroners’ departments.
Others: Intelligent Fingerprinting, a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia, has been given £425,000 to improve drug screening services in hospital A&E and coroners’ departments. The company has developed drug screening technology to analyse the minute amounts of sweat contained in a fingerprint to reveal the recent drug-use history of an individual. It provides rapid results in just 10 minutes using a portable hand-held device.
A £135,000 award will fund a project in partnership with the University of Leicester to research the feasibility of using this technology for fast, non-invasive drug screening of hospital A&E patients on admission. This simple test could save lives and improve patient care by ensuring they receive appropriate treatment in an emergency situation. It could also reduce NHS costs by providing paramedics and hospital staff with a fast, reliable, non-invasive test. The funding will be used to aid development of the handheld fingerprint testing device and prove its feasibility for use in accident and emergency situations by ambulance paramedics and at A&E admission.
A second £290,000 award, announced by Willets, will fund a study in conjunction with coroners to trial non-invasive drug testing of the deceased.
Therapeutic area: Technology - Services
