Smart Separations - a novel microfiltration system with a wide range of uses

智能分离公司正在开发一种专有的微过滤器技术，通过以受控的方式改变孔径大小，可以轻松地定制以满足多种不同的需求。在许多不同的市场和应用中，孔径的可控性是一个独特的卖点。基于这项技术的新型过滤器具有很高的创新性，潜在的商业颠覆性很高。在获得非常成功的TSB Smart Proof Market奖后，该公司确定了该技术在分离血细胞方面的初步应用，该技术比目前的方法更有效、更实惠。捐献的每一单位血液都需要经过过滤，以消除与白细胞(白细胞)相关的潜在疾病，这些疾病限制了献血者/接受者之间的兼容性。因此，全球每年价值超过4亿GB的“降白细胞”滤清器有一个巨大的成熟市场。智能分离的突破性新技术将降低白细胞减少的成本(此后将减轻NHS和其他卫生组织的负担)，并提高效率和细胞回收率--仅NHS每年就可节省约2500万GB。最终，新的过滤器使血液单位更容易分割成它们的主要成分：血浆、血小板、红细胞(RBC)和白细胞。智能分离现在希望证明过滤概念。因此，这一概念验证拨款将允许开发一系列最初的、基本的预原型过滤产品，然后使用通常在与NHS-血液和移植相关的实验室合作时丢弃的血液进行专业实验室测试。这一阶段的赠款将有助于利用市场研究证明的积极结果，并允许进行概念演示，以提供技术可行性的基本证明。

Smart Separations is developing a proprietary microfilter technology that can be easilytailored to suit many different needs by varying the pore size in a controlled manner. Theregularity of the pore size is a unique selling point in many different markets and applications.New filters based on this technology are highly innovative and potentially highlycommercially disruptive.Following a very successful TSB Smart Proof of Market award, the company has identified aninitial application of the technology in separating blood cells more efficiently and affordablythan current methods. Every unit of blood donated needs to be filtered in order to removepotential diseases associated with the white blood cells (leukocytes) which have limitedcompatibility amongst donors/receivers. There is thus a large established market for‘leukoreduction’ filters worth annually more than £400million globally. Smart Separations’ground-breaking new technology would both reduce the costs of leukoreduction (hencereducing the burden to the NHS and other health organisations) and improve efficiency andcell recovery - allowing estimated annual savings to the NHS alone of around £25million.Ultimately the new filters make it easier to fraction blood units into their main components:plasma, platelets, red blood cells (RBCs) and leukocytes.Smart separations now wishes to prove the filtration concept. This Proof of Concept grant willthus allow the development of a series of initial, basic pre-prototype filtration products,followed by specialist laboratory testing using blood that is usually discarded in collaborationwith a laboratory associated with the NHS – Blood & Transplant. The grant at this stagewould help leverage the positive results from the Proof of Market study and allow for conceptdemonstration to provide basic proof of technical feasibility.