Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the healthcare sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising startups tackling sepsis.
Heat Map: 5 Top Startups Tackling Sepsis
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of healthcare. For this research, we identified 97 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing solutions to treat sepsis. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 97 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Cala Medical – Extracorporeal Blood Purification
Ineffective immune response, caused by various immunodeficiencies, plays a critical role in the formation of sepsis and septic shock. Technological advances in medical devices such as hemodialysis help medical professionals artificially purify a patient’s blood of bacteria and other impurities. Startups and scaleups are developing technologies that purify blood outside of the body to treat sepsis and septic shock.
Irish medical device startup Cala Medical develops Cytoflow5, an extracorporeal therapy for sepsis treatment. The startup uses protein immobilization and formulation to develop therapies that target specific immune modulators. The startup also plans to make their extracorporeal therapy compatible with already existing intensive care unit (ICU) equipment.
Sangair – Active Oxygen
Sepsis and septic shock is a result of infection anywhere in the body, such as pneumonia, influenza, or urinary tract infections (UTI). People who survive sepsis sometimes experience unexpected effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, and fatigue, as well as organ dysfunction and amputations. Startups develop solutions that use active oxygen as a purifying agent to treat sepsis and septic shock.
Swedish startup Sangair develops a treatment procedure for sepsis by oxygenation of the patient’s blood. The solution extracts blood from the radial artery of the patient and reduces its temperature to 7°C with the help of a heat exchanger. Then, a sintered gas dispenser oxygenates the blood, before integrating it in the body, at body temperature. The procedure treats impurities in the blood, such as bacteria, and helps purify the blood of sepsis patients.
PATH EX – Selective Endotoxin Removal
Endotoxins are potent microbial mediators implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis and septic shock. Startups and scaleups develop innovative and easy-to-use solutions to separate the endotoxins from the patients’ blood and reduce the rapid escalation of sepsis.
The US-based startup PATH EX develops a blood cleansing device. It selectively removes pathogens, including multi-drug resistant bacteria, as well as endotoxins from circulating blood. The cleansing device enables immediate treatment for bacteremia and sepsis. The startup is validating the extent of reduction in pathogen and endotoxin levels in preclinical studies.
MediSieve – Magnetic Blood Filtration
Some pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, as well as other blood-borne impurities exhibit magnetic properties. The infusion of magnetic particles also makes other cells magnetic. The procedure allows clinicians to target specific cells with magnetic particles to easily filter impurities, thus, reducing the risk of sepsis escalation. Startups utilize magnetic particles and their customizable binding capabilities to develop solutions for treating sepsis.
British startup MediSieve develops MediSieve Filter, a magnetic filter that selectively removes targeted substances from the patient’s bloodstream. The startup’s technology uses targeted magnetic particles that bind specifically to the bacteria and other pathogens in the bloodstream. The filter captures these pathogens at the end of the blood loop before flowing back into the body. This method removes different targets with high efficiency and specificity due to the customizable nature of the magnetic particles.
Cimon Medical – Ultrasound Diagnostics
Identifying sepsis in its early stages minimizes the risk of severe sepsis and multiple organ failure, both events that have high morbidity rates. The use of ultrasound to identify anomalies in the blood further enables medical professionals to make a timely prognosis. Startups leverage high-frequency sound waves to identify changes in the blood for the treatment of sepsis and underlying conditions.
Norwegian startup Cimon Medical develops a proprietary technology that continuously monitors blood-flow. The startup uses a coin-sized Doppler ultrasound probe that acts as a single element transducer with an unfocused beam, to illuminate a cylindrical area of tissue, and captures all blood flow signals. This novel approach is non-invasive, easy to use, and does not require trained medical professionals to implement. The solution enables the early detection of sepsis and assists medical professionals to make the appropriate treatment decisions, well in advance.
What About The Other 92 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 solutions tackling sepsis and showcased above are promising examples out of 97 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
