This is a novel, patented wound-infection diagnostic technology, which uses the body's own response to infection to produce a colour change in a wound management product, thereby giving a visual indication of the presence of microbiological infection.
Existing technology
There are currently no point-of-care wound infection diagnostics available on the market. Current wound diagnostic approaches require swabbing of the wound, followed by incubation and subsequent bacterial growth, with turn around times for results taking up to 4 days. This can lead to significant delays in treatment regimes, with the subsequent clinical burden on healthcare providers.
Other microbiological diagnostics under development measure directly the presence of pathogens. The advantage of using the lysozyme approach is that the levels of lysozyme will correlate with the level of infection. In other words, lysozyme will only be present if the body's natural defensive barriers have been breached and the immune system has been activated.
Benefits of new technology
Wound infections can be identified and treated quickly, without unnecessary disruption to the wound dressing or time consuming swab incubation/biochemical assays.
Applications
Multiple potential applications of the wound diagnostic technology exist, ranging from simple point-of-care wound diagnostic products, like "intelligent" band-aids, which could be sold through FMCG channels (e.g. drug stores, retail multiples), through to high-end woundcare products used in hospital or battlefield settings.
The initial application envisaged for this technology is a simple point-of-care diagnostic product to confirm the presence or otherwise of infection in minor wounds e.g. grazes, minor lacerations. The product would be sold through retail environments and has the potential for multiple line extensions to include co-packaging with topical antimicrobial products for the treatment of infected wounds.