NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — A UK-funded collaboration is developing a hand-held molecular testing system for identifying two pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired infections, Cambridge Design Partnership said today.
Nottingham Trent University, Universal Sensors, and Cambridge Design Partnership formed a strategic alliance to develop an environmental diagnostic device that can detect the presence of Clostridium.difficile and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
The research is being funded by the UK's National Institute for Health Research through a Small Business Research Initiative grant.
Cambridge Design Partnership has worked with Universal Sensors to develop a sensor technology for use in its hand-held device. The Nottingham Trent University will develop tests that will be integrated into the mobile electronically linked immunosorbent assay platform, the company said. The system will be able to perform immunoassays and tests for DNA from pathogenic organisms and provide results in five minutes, the partners said.
The partners in the two-part collaboration plan to complete the first phase of the program in six months, and they intend to take the system into production by the end of 2010.
The collaborators plan to develop tests to comply with EU regulations for in vitro diagnostic medical devices and with US Food and Drug Administration requirements for Class II Medical Devices.