The speed of medical response is vital, as antiviral drugs are only effective if taken within two to three days after the onset of symptoms - so doctors need a rapid, simple and low-cost test that can be carried out at the clinic or even the patient's own bedside.
The current "gold standard" test for detecting these viruses is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. This test can't be done at the patient's bedside, however - the sample must be sent to a central laboratory for processing, which causes delays in diagnosis and treatment.
So in 2008 a consortium was created in North East England to devise a solution to this problem. Led by UK nano-biotechnology firm Orla Protein Technologies, the partners in the VIRASENS project included Newcastle University professors Jeremy Lakey and Geoffrey Toms, the UK’s Health Protection Agency's Public Health Laboratory in Newcastle and regional technology centre RTC North.
The intention was to create a device which would allow doctors and paramedics to perform rapid near-patient testing without the need for complex equipment. A successful outcome would improve the speed of treatment, help to contain the outbreak, benefit patients and reduce the cost to the healthcare system.
The £1.1m project, part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK government's innovation agency, has successfully developed biosensors for three of the main viral culprits - the Influenza A and B viruses and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). It has also resulted in the creation of a new company, OJ-Bio Ltd, to commercialise the technology.
The Health Protection Agency collected nasal secretions, nose/throat swabs and nasal aspirates from patients and used these samples to test the consortium's technology - Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) biosensors - against the current benchmark PCR method, as well as another commercially available test.
The results showed that the new SAW biosensors gave results in around 10 minutes, had good levels of diagnostic sensitivity for the three test viruses and did not give false positives - they demonstrated 100% specificity even when other viral analytes were present.
Equally promising is the fact that the SAW biosensors have the potential to communicate the results via wireless networks or a smart phone connection, so that further medical attention can be given if needed. This means that as well as being used in clinics, devices based on the technology could be used for community or home use.
SAW chips are already mass manufactured for use in mobile phones. What the VIRASENS project has done is find a way to coat SAW chips with proteins oriented on the device surface to give highly specific responses when they come into contact with samples containing the disease concerned. The reaction that takes place is turned into an electronic signal which can be combined with a small reader to transmit and receive data.
Dr Andrew Sails, Head of Molecular Diagnostics and R&D at the Health Protection Agency Public Health Laboratory in Newcastle says: "This is very exciting technology which has the potential to revolutionise point of care testing for infectious diseases."
The company formed to commercialise the technology is Newcastle-based OJ-Bio, a joint venture involving global electronics company Japan Radio Company (JRC) who provide the SAW chip expertise and Orla Protein Technologies, the UK company that provides the protein surface technology.
Dr. Dale Athey, CEO of OJ-Bio, said: "The VIRASENS results are a great boost for our technology and allow us to approach major companies who will want to produce and sell these devices. We are also developing products for other diseases, as the technology works for any immunoassay based test and on samples from blood or urine, as well as saliva."
The company also recently announced that it is starting clinical trials of a SAW device for the point of care detection of periodontal gum disease - another infection with huge economic impact, estimated at £2.78 billion per year in the UK alone.
About OJ-Bio
OJ-Bio is a joint venture between Orla Protein Technologies Ltd and Japan Radio Co. Ltd (JRC). For more information see http://www.oj-bio.com
About Orla Protein Technologies
Orla Protein Technologies Ltd is a nano-biotechnology company focused on developing high-performance biosurfaces with applications in cell culture, life science tools, reagents and diagnostics. Orla's development was supported by investment from NEL Capital and support from the regional development agency, One NorthEast.
About Japan Radio Company
Japan Radio Co. Ltd (JRC) is a major Japanese company with global interests in communications and electronics.
About the Health Protection Agency
The Health Protection Agency is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. In April 2013, subject to the usual approvals procedures for establishing new bodies, the Health Protection Agency will become part of a new organisation called Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health.
About the Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board is the UK's innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.