Fund could lead to improved drug screening in hospitals

The funding has been awarded by the Biomedical Catalyst — a programme of public funding designed to assist growth in the UK life-sciences sector, delivered by the Medical Research Council and the Technology Strategy Board.

Intelligent Fingerprinting has developed drug-screening technology to analyse the minute amounts of sweat contained in a fingerprint to reveal the recent drug-use history of an individual. It provides results in 10 minutes using a portable handheld device.

A £135,000 award will fund a project in partnership with Leicester University to research the feasibility of using this technology for the fast, non-invasive drug screening of hospital A&E patients on admission.

According to the company, this test could save lives and improve patient care by ensuring that individuals receive appropriate treatment in emergency situations. It could also reduce NHS costs by providing paramedics and hospital staff with a fast, reliable, non-invasive test.

In a statement, Dr Paul Yates, business development manager for Intelligent Fingerprinting, said: ‘Many people admitted to A&E are under the influence of drugs — either legally prescribed medicines or drugs of abuse. But in an emergency situation, clinicians may be unaware of a patient’s medical or drug-use history.