Future Space members éclateral are celebrating the New Year with a move into their own dedicated lab. The team is preparing for a crowdfunding campaign to support the development of their pregnancy test for women with sight impairment.
They will also be launching a pre-seed funding round for their lateral flow tests (LFTs) offering multiple use applications – from testing for the menopause to checking if a patient needs antibiotics.
Founder of éclateral Paul Ko Ferrigno is passionate about creating accessible and transparent testing for patients, giving them more visibility over their wellbeing and allowing doctors to make precise prescriptions more quickly.
This has led his team at éclateral to explore two major use-cases for their LFT tests, neither of which are currently available to patients in the UK.
Opal test reader
Tackling antibiotic resistance
Resistance to antibiotics is one of the biggest threats to humanity – by 2050 it is expected that more people will die from an antibiotic resistant infection than will die of cancer.
“To avoid this, we need to stop bugs being exposed to antibiotics unless they need to be”, says Paul. “Otherwise, the bug learns to resist the antibiotic, and once it has acquired resistance the antibiotic will no longer work – no matter who or what the host of that bug is.”
The issue is that bacterial and viral infections often have similar symptoms, but only bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. This means that 80% of the people who are given antibiotics do not need them.
There are tests available that patients can take before they see a doctor to help determine if they need antibiotics, but these tests are not being used in the UK. Paul believes that this is partly due to cost, and partly due to a lack of time in GP surgeries to administer the tests.
“The tests measure CRP levels”, he explains. “If these are high then they indicate that you have a bacterial infection and need antibiotics. With our technology the tests can be done in pharmacies or at home by the patient.”
The NHS is planning to allow pharmacies to prescribe antibiotics in future for common conditions such as STDs and earaches but not for people with a cough, which could be caused by a viral infection. Paul believes pharmacists will therefore be administering CRP tests in the not-too-distant future.
The Opal test reader is linked to an app
Supporting women’s health
The inspiration for éclateral’s technology came from a publicity campaign run by RNIB around the lack of an accessible pregnancy test for blind women. Now, éclateral is also looking to bring to market tests for women to check their menopause symptoms. This test is currently available on the NHS but only if you are under 40 and are showing premature symptoms of perimenopause. Clearblue has also recently launched a menopausal staging test, but this is only available in the US.
Through their work with the Bristol Menopause Clinic, éclateral has developed an understanding of the various reasons a woman might be displaying perimenopausal symptoms, including a lack of vitamins in their diet, thyroid function, as well as changes in sexual hormones. Accordingly, their test will provide a holistic approach that will give women peace of mind on all areas of their health and wellbeing, as well as testing for the menopause.
Get in touch with éclateral
To support éclateral’s work on pregnancy testing for blind women and to be the first to hear about their crowdfunding campaign sign up here. Find out more about the team here and get in touch about funding opportunities.
For support with the menopause in Bristol please visit Bristol Menopause here or the British Menopause Society. NHS advice is available here.