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Sonic Separation Promises Earlier Detection of Disease

ProKyma, a spin-out from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), has announced a £470K funding round led by Merseyside Special Investment Fund's Liverpool Seed Fund. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Rainbow Seed Fund and ProKyma management also participated in the round.

The investment will allow ProKyma to develop its 'Sonic Separation' technology which uses ultrasound waves to purify and concentrate bacteria from samples like blood, faeces, soil and water, for more rapid, sensitive and accurate analysis.

The ultimate objective is to concentrate and purify bacteria to allow detection in hours instead of days as is currently necessary. So far the company has proven that the ultrasound can be used to purify extremely low numbers of bacteria from complex samples such as soil or blood and allow very sensitive detection using molecular tests such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Sonic Separation has also been demonstrated to allow automated rapid analysis of blood groups for use in blood transfusion.

Damian Bond, chief executive of ProKyma, commented: ' This investment has come at a very good time for us and will help progress our business significantly. We are now able to complete our feasibility analysis of the different sample types and are beginning to look at the engineering requirements to miniaturise the laboratory equipment we've developed as well as process larger and multiple samples.'

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Source : ProKyma Technologies Ltd. View archived contact details

Posted on February 25, 2008