Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 5th Annual
Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Disrupting Healthcare Delivery
20-21 May 2020
Point-of-care diagnostics is one of the fastest moving segments of the diagnostics market, and innovations in sensors, microfluidics and smartphone technologies are allowing faster and more accurate diagnosis and monitoring of disease. The Fifth Annual
Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Disrupting Healthcare Delivery conference in Lisbon will feature the latest technologies and trends in rapid testing for healthcare settings, and will bring new infectious disease, antimicrobial stewardship, rare cell and
CRISPR-Cas9 detection for application around the world. Point-of-care testing is being developed for a variety of settings including field applications, doctors' offices or at home. Please join us to hear about the latest platforms, features, and
progress.
Final Agenda
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WEDNESDAY 20 MAY
11:00 Registration
11:35 Breakout Discussions (Visit www.dxinnovationsummit.com/Breakout-Discussions for details)
12:35 Session Break
14:00 Keynote Introduction
Gyorgy Abel, MD, PhD, Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Immunology & Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Medicine, Lahey Hospital
& Medical Center, United States
14:05 Rapid AMR Detection and Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing – Two Sides of the Same Coin in the Fight against AMR?
Till T. Bachmann, PhD, Professor, Deputy Head, Division of Infection and Pathway Medicine, Edinburgh Medical School, College of Medicine and Veterinary
Medicine, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Rapid diagnostics is considered a key tool to tackle antimicrobial resistance. While rapid molecular diagnostics of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance is established as a strong contender of traditional culture-based pathogen identification and susceptibility
testing, its strengths lie in the determination of which antibiotics to avoid. Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing to find out which antibiotic to use is emerging at rapid pace using innovative techniques for phenotypic testing. The presentation
will discuss the current landscape and emerging opportunities of these two leading diagnostic perspectives.
14:35 The Longitude Prize: Overcoming Hurdles to Market for AMR Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Caroline Purslow, Global Health Programme Manager, Nesta Challenges, United Kingdom
Use of point-of-care diagnostic tests would reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Innovation in this area is moving at a rapid pace, yet few of these products have reached clinicians. The Longitude Prize was created to stimulate this innovation,
yet without removing barriers to market access and implementation, a winning test cannot have the desired impact. This talk will provide an update on the Longitude Prize portfolio and the steps the project and wider community are undertaking to ensure
novel point-of-care diagnostics reach the front line.
15:05 Chest Infection: Are You Sure You Need Those Antibiotics?
Liz Cross, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, QN, Attenborough Surgery, Bushey Medical Centre, Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group, NIHR, United Kingdom
The outlying 5 highest antibiotic-prescribing practices within Hert Valley CCG were selected and offered C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care-testing (POCT) as an intervention to aid them to reduce their antibiotic prescribing. These practices were
provided with CRP machines for a one-year period, along with education. A practice champion in each surgery was identified who helped staff to engage with using the CRP POCT machine and who could help with identified problems, especially in the early
stages. CRP POCT was not offered to every patient, just those cases where the GP had some reservations about the need for a prescription. The results show that 81% of patients offered CRP POCT did not receive antibiotics and 92% of patients did not
reattend the practice within 28 days after having received a CRP POCT. We believe that if CRP POCT was not available then the majority of these patients would have been prescribed antibiotics. CRP POCT has therefore proven to be a beneficial tool
in these high prescribing practices to reduced unscheduled reattendances and supporting GPs to use antibiotics more effectively.
15:35 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
16:05 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
17:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Gyorgy Abel, MD, PhD, Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Immunology & Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Medicine, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center,
United States
17:05 Three Novel Point-of-Care (POC) Platforms for Molecular Pathogen Testing Based on Real-Time PCR, Digital Single-Cell RPA, and Electrochemical LAMP
Apl. Prof. Dr. Felix von Stetten, Associate Director, Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft für angewandte Forschung e.V., Germany
Three POC platforms of different technology-readiness-levels (TRLs) are presented: 1) The Spindiag platform (TRL-6), performing real-time PCR-based admission screening for antibiotic-resistant bacteria (MRSA, CRO, VRE); 2) a digital sample-to-answer-platform
(TRL-4) for the massively parallel analysis of single MRSA/MSSA cells for species and resistance gene; and 3) a miniaturized electrochemical platform for isothermal amplification (TRL-3) using real-time mediator displacement LAMP, recently validated
with HIV-1 and HTLV-1.
17:35 Point-of-Care Diagnostic and Monitoring of Bacterial Infections
Winnie Edith Svendsen, PhD, Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine Section for Microbial and Chemical Ecology, Technical University
of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
The challenges of introducing point-of-care detection of bacterial-specific infections are plentiful. In this talk, I will discuss three examples with different challenges of bacterial infections and the technology applied to solve these challenges.
I will illustrate how quorum sensing can be used to fingerprint pseudomonas infection in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients from sputum samples using electrochemical methods. I will discuss how electrochemical impedance spectroscopy can be
used to monitor the correct dosing of the antibiotic, Vancomycin, which is toxic but a last resort antibiotic for treating resistant bacterial infections in humans. Finally, I will demonstrate a simple method to monitor if a bacterial contamination
exists on surfaces, e.g. for hygiene control. I will discuss the challenges, encounters, pros and cons of each method for point-of-care detection.
18:05 The Case for Grassroots Innovation in POCT
Gyorgy Abel, MD, PhD, Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Immunology & Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory Medicine, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center,
United States
Dx innovation is commonly initiated at the top of the pyramid: major companies analyze trends, recognize unmet needs, and instruct their R&D departments to develop new or upgraded diagnostic systems. It generally works well for large, expensive
platforms, but often falls short in POCT. The modest capital requirement for POCT development allows free-flowing, “outside the box” thinking and enables grassroots innovation at startups and academic incubators. Esoteric new ideas
are welcome in grassroots, but often thwarted in corporate environments. Grassroots innovation has been a rich source of new POCT solutions as illustrated by examples in this presentation.
18:35 Close of Day
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THURSDAY 21 MAY
08:30 Registration and Morning Coffee
09:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Holger Becker, PhD, Founder & CSO, microfluidic ChipShop GmbH, Germany
09:05 Energy-Efficient and Precise Photon-Based Technology for Optical Heating and Temperature Control in a Microfluidic System for Nucleic Acid Amplification at Point-of-Care
Miron Tokarski, CEO, Genomtec S.A., Poland
Currently, microfluidic systems for genetic testing are largely based on PCR technology. This approach has several problems linked with energy consumption, efficient heating and cooling, size and the high complexity of the diagnostic systems which
result in limited access to genetic testing benefits. The Genomtec team has developed a unique LED-based heating system and contactless temperature detection system for use on INAAT assays in microfluidic point-of-care systems.
09:35 Automated Platform for Near-Patient, Rapid Microfluidic Extraction of Circulating Nucleic Acids from Milliliter Volumes of Whole Blood
Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas, PhD, Associate Professor, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, Heriot-Watt
University, United Kingdom
For extracellular plasma circulating cell-free nucleic acids (CNAs) to have an impact on healthcare, a key challenge to overcome is the development of rapid and reliable low-cost sample preparation. We demonstrate a microfluidic system able to perform
the extraction of circulating cell-free miRNAs and DNA from several milliliters of whole blood in a single disposable fluidic cartridge, on a fully automated platform, delivering a stable elution of CNAs in under an hour.
10:05 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
10:35 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall. Last Chance for Poster Viewing
11:20 CRISPR-Powered Electrochemical Nucleic Acid Diagnostics
Can Dincer, PhD, Junior
Research Group Leader, Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT) and Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Germany
Nucleic acid testing is decisive for the diagnosis of many diseases in medicine. Besides its wide application in gene editing, CRISPR technology features a powerful tool for the highly sensitive and selective quantification of nucleic acids. In this
talk, the first CRISPR/Cas13a powered electrochemical microfluidic biosensor for on-site miRNA detection will be presented. Without any target amplification, it offers a low-cost, easily scalable, and multiplexed approach for nucleic acid diagnostics.
11:50 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Molecular POCT: From Esoteric to Mainstream – From Concept to Production
Anders Wolff, PhD, Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Far too many point-of-care tests (POCT) developed at universities are never commercialised. For commercialisation, it is important to consider the choice of materials, fabrication-, bonding-, and detection methods, etc. These should be suitable
for mass production, low cost and easy to use and handle. In my group, we have developed different solutions, design and methods that can be produced at a realistic low price and can be scaled up from prototypes to full-scale industrial mass
production. Other important issues are assay design and integrated reagents. I will discuss these subjects and include examples from our research.
12:20 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
12:50 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
13:20 Session Break
13:50 Chairperson’s Remarks
Vincent Linder, PhD, CEO, Calciscon, Switzerland; Founder and President, CDP BioMedical Consulting, Portugal
14:00 Nanodroplet Microfluidics – A Versatile Tool for Continuous Biomarker Monitoring: Case Study of a Wearable Sensor for Lactate Monitoring
Oliver Hofmann, PhD, MBA, CEO, SouthWestSensor Limited, United Kingdom
Nanodroplet microfluidics provides a powerful tool for high-frequency, wet chemistry-based measurement of biomarkers. We describe the transition of this versatile approach from lab to point-of-care use. SouthWestSensor Ltd. has developed a wearable
sensor solution for measuring lactate, a key marker for instance in the management of sepsis. We demonstrate tracking of lactate levels in dermal tissue with results in close agreement with off-line analysis of peripheral blood samples.
14:30 Development and Clinical Validation of the T50 Test for Accurate Measurement of Phosphate Toxicity, and Its Extension to the Point-of-Care
Vincent Linder, PhD, CEO, Calciscon, Switzerland; Founder and President, CDP BioMedical Consulting, Portugal
Calciscon has developed the T50, a blood test for Phosphate Toxicity, which is the adverse effect that phosphate exerts on cells, tissues and organs, and is associated with numerous pathologies. In this contribution we discuss the foundational
work that led to the invention of the T50, its clinical validation across multiple cohorts of patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD), and the adaptation of the test to deliver clinical value in point-of-care applications.
15:00 Ultra-Fast, Highly Multiplexed Point-of-Care Test for Detection of MSSA/MRSA/PVL within 15 Minutes from a Nasal Swab to Results
Piotr Garstecki, PhD, President & CTO, Scope Fluidics SA, Poland
We use the PCR|ONE point-of-care molecular diagnostics platform in screening tests detecting MSSA, MRSA and the gene coding the PVL toxin. We describe the technical realization of key stages of the protocol, including automated sample preparation
and DNA isolation, microfluidic multiplexing and infrared radiation-mediated ultra-fast PCR reaction, together with the results of validation in clinical environment.
15:30 Biowatch and What Home Dx and Wearable IVD Products Can Do Outside of Healthcare
Mikkel Thykjær Jørgensen, CEO, Founder & Partner, Biowatch ApS, Denmark
Biowatch gives health-interested users access to professional analysis of biological material, enabling the user to detect and correct imbalances, optimize performance, and proactively engage in the prevention of lifestyle diseases.
16:00 Close of Conference
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