Sapient Sensors ’ chairman Ralph Pickles ( right ) with the firm ’ s chief executive Keith Robson . Picture by Tom Banks .
GROUND
BY
BREAKERS
GRAEME ANDERSON
County Durham company makes world-changing Covid-19 testing breakthrough
Sapient Sensors has developed a
simple but groundbreaking test , which quickly analyses saliva and produces an on-the-spot result without unpleasant nasal swabs .
It ’ s a potential game-changer when it comes to speed , comfort and convenience in testing for Covid-19 infection .
Now the race is on to get Vi-Free™ hand-held devices out to a world that will be coping with the virus for many years to come .
Vi-Free could be brought to market within months and Sapient Sensors ’ chief executive Keith Robson is excited about how transformative it will be .
Speaking from the diagnostic company ’ s base in NetPark , Sedgefield , he said : “ Every element of this works . We know we can build it and have shown it recognises the Covid-19 spike protein - and in future , it can be customised for other viruses .
“ We ’ re very excited because it has worldwide applicability and will provide immediate , cost-effective and accurate measurements to a world hit so hard by Covid-19 .
“ The Vi-Free is a palm-sized device - an electronic recorder used with disposable test strips with the capability of transmitting results to Test and Trace , to allow passporting .
“ We continue to develop and test for consistency and accuracy but funding is the key - we could be ready to roll out from the end of the year .
“ We need £ 500,000 to deliver the prototype and £ 1.1m for manufacturing but that ’ s drop-in-the-ocean stuff compared to the money governments and organisations are spending looking for a diagnostic system like Vi-Free .”
The currently used lateral flow tests take half-an-hour and require strict conditions for success . They are rough-and-ready tests analysing mucus swabs from the nose and throat , as opposed to the saliva test of the Vi-Free . Swabbing is unpleasant and invasive and the tests can produce " false negatives ", without someone with training supervising how to test properly .
“ In contrast , our tests can be done anywhere by anyone without discomfort to the person being tested , and we want to make Vi-Free affordable ," said Sapient Sensors ’ chairman Ralph Pickles .
“ Our pricing model would make the reusable device available for around £ 10 , with each disposable test strip costing around £ 1 .”
As well as making testing simple and cheap , it opens up the prospects of a return to normality .
Ralph explained : “ With Vi-Free , you could take the test at a venue and get instant proof whether you had Covid-19 or not . We could all access venues much as we used to but knowing everyone there is Covid-safe .
“ Recently the world has had Ebola , SARS , Zika and Covid-19 , so testing is going to be a continuing requirement .”
So clearly is the patented Vi-Free product an obvious solution that it has attracted interest , most notably a £ 100,000 investment from North Star for proof of concept .
But more funding is needed and quickly if the Vi-Free is to become a familiar and everyday aid for all .
Keith , who co-founded the company in 2011 , said : “ We are well-resourced with experts at Leeds and Manchester universities – leaders in their field – having successfully developed the testing system .
“ We need funding and are pushing our case all the time - we want the government to see Sapient Sensors as the future .
“ Traditionally it is hard to break into the health market but the shock of Covid-19 has helped reduce barriers .
“ The government is sponsoring scientific development and we want to be at the forefront of that to give the world a fantastic testing resource .
“ Our test is the future of diagnostics and does not need massive investment – all the parts can be got from existing manufacturers such as electronics companies . The supply chain is there .
“ As a company , Sapient Sensors is hugely ambitious because we see the value of Vi- Free not only to authorities , organisations , employers and governments but perhaps most of all , to the general public .”
Find out more about Sapient Sensors at sapientsensors . com .
wear . business – the voice of business for the Wear region | 35