Qinetiq co-develops lung disease sensor

The new system works by measuring bio-markers - proteins whose concentration reflects the severity or presence of disease - in saliva.

Prof Monica Spiteri, of the Directorate of Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (UHNS), came up with the idea of testing saliva as a means of monitoring the everyday condition of patients with serious lung conditions, especially during flare-ups of the disease, which are the second biggest cause of emergency hospital admissions.

Early recognition of such impending flare-ups could alert patients and the GPs, consultants and nurses caring for them to begin or change treatment, which could avoid them being rushed into hospital.

To create the system, MidTECH - the West Midlands NHS innovations hub - brought the hospital trust and engineers from Qinetiq together in a collaborative arrangement that enabled the Qinetiq engineers and NHS clinicians to co-develop the system. Qinetiq produced the prototype respiratory biosensor for the system at its technology centre in Malvern, Worcestershire.