Development of the NeutroCheck diagnostic device to enable remote triage of chemotherapy patients at risk of neutropenic sepsis

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Neutropenic sepsis (NS) is a life-threatening complication of cancer chemotherapy. It occurs because chemotherapy temporarily suppresses the immune system, particularly neutrophil cells, and even mild illnesses can be fatal for patients during this time. As a result, if any chemotherapy patient has a fever or feels unwell they are advised to attend hospital, just in case they may be developing NS.National guidance mandates patients with suspected NS receive life-saving antibiotics within one hour of entering hospital as risk of death increases with each hour's delay. However, two important problems exist in the current pathway. Firstly, due to delays and inefficiencies in identifying those at risk of the condition, around half of patients do not receive life-saving antibiotics within one hour of arriving at hospital. Secondly, more than half of patients attending hospital have normal neutrophils, so did not necessarily need emergency assessment and treatment.The NeutroCheck solution includes an innovative device and app that will enable accurate identification of chemotherapy patients who may be at risk of NS. Our low-cost device uses a fingerprick of blood to provide a rapid and accurate measurement of neutrophil and sepsis marker levels. This will enable health professionals to focus their care on truly unwell patients and ensure that those cancer patients who can avoid hospital attendance can safely do so.NeutroCheck will save lives by enabling earlier antibiotic delivery and reduce unnecessary emergency hospital visits, improving quality of life and saving the NHS millions of pounds.In this project, 52 North Health, the creators of NeutroCheck, will collaborate with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UnifAI Technology, The UK Sepsis Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support to finish developing and gain regulatory approval for NeutroCheck so that patients and health professionals can access its wide-ranging benefits.