Development and validation of a diagnostic instrument to detect platelet activation levels from whole blood samples.

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This project involves the development and validation of Technology that can be used as medical diagnostic tools to quantify platelet activation in individual at-risk, or being treated for cardiovascular events. The products contemplated will allow clinicians to assess the effectiveness of anti-platelet therapies and patients to monitor frequently and without professional assistance their level of platelet activation, which is an indicator o the likelihood of suffering a cardiovascular injury such as a stroke.The medical diagnostic market is a very large market that is dominated by high-capitalisation companies. Despite this and the presence of regulations in this market, it is open to novel technologies and to companies commercialising them through patents or know-how.The cardiovascular sector occupies a large portion of the health-related costs in North America. In this part of the world, 29% of all deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases. More than 80% of Canadians are considered at risk for cardiovascular diseases. These diseases are the leading cause of invalidity in North America. Although platelet activation is known to be an important indicator of cardiovascular events and an important indicator of treatment efficiency, no routine tests are available to accurately measure it in the clinic or at home. A test such as that offered by our Technology could easily create a market as large as that existing for portable glucose sensors, for example, as more than three times more individuals suffer from cardiovascular diseases than from diabetes. The market for portable glucose sensors is expected to exceed 9 billion dollars US in sales within the next five years.