Funding secured for home blood clot test

Microvisk Technologies have raised over £2.5 million through a rights deal with existing investors to bring their handheld blood clotting sensor to the market by 2011.

The company – a spin-out from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council – has developed SmartStrip to measure the blood clotting speed of patients on warfarin. It is hoped patients will be able to use it to monitor their status in the way that diabetics can monitor their condition at home.

The strip – already under trial – measures clotting speed of blood from a finger prick sample using tiny multi-layered paddles on its surface and includes a memory chip to ensure the device is calibrated to provide the highest level of accuracy.

“We are delighted to have secured the funding we need to take our first SmartStrip product through the testing phase towards manufacture and launch next year,” said Microvisk chief executive office John Curtis, “We believe that we are well-placed to capture a significant share of the doctor’s office and home test markets for warfarin.”

Currently patients on warfarin must have regular blood tests at the doctor’s surgery or hospital clinics to ensure they’re receiving the correct dose. Too low a dose and there’s a risk of blood clots forming which can move to the heart or lungs and cause stroke or heart attack. Too high a dose and the patient’s blood is too thin and could result in a life-threatening bleed.