High Force Research (HFR) are delighted to announce the commencement of a new collaboration with Loughborough University in an attempt to translate fundamental research into life-saving technology.
Stroke is the fourth biggest killer in the UK, with almost two thirds of stroke survivors leaving hospital with a disability. Time is crucial such that therapy using blood thinning drugs is needed within 4.5 hours in order to improve the chances of survival and reduce complications. Current technologies fall short in the detection of stroke, often giving unreliable readouts due to the use of inherently unstable components.
HFR will seek to overcome these shortfalls by developing a new molecular point-of-care diagnostic device, using the fundamental research developed within the groups of Dr’s Stephen Butler and Helen Wilcock at Loughborough University. This technology relies on the encapsulation of novel sensors within a hydrogel network, allowing selective sensing of specific biomarkers released during the onset of Stroke.
“ With over thirty years in operation, HFR have a vast amount of experience in the diagnostics sector and we believe that the fundamental technology developed by Stephen and Helen offers significant advantages to the current gold standard. We’re well placed as a chemical development company operating in the life sciences sector to help develop this technology further and build on the already promising work, with the end goal of delivering a product to enhance patient care.”
said Dr Neil Sim, Head of New Projects at HFR.
This project is due to commence in February 2020 and is funded collaboratively through HFR and Loughborough Universities’ Impact Acceleration Award.
For more information on the project team at Loughborough, please see:
www.lboro.ac.uk – stephen-butler www.lboro.ac.uk – helen-willcock
