Outstanding Oxfordshire - Oxford Medistress
Dr David Sarphie Oxford Medistress Oxford Medistress is developing and commercialising a novel, rapid blood test for stress testing.
The technique looks at the responsiveness of white blood cells as an indicator of stress. The company also offers a stress testing service that’s open to consumers and corporate customers.
David: “We take a drop of blood from the subject, mix it with chemicals that we have identified and look for a response. If the subject is stressed then the white blood cells will not respond. Our approach is much simpler than previous approaches, and the advantage of that is that this technology could easily be developed into a handheld unit, so the test could be self-administered.
“The major difficulty, as with every small company, is funding. We’ve been trying to finalise funding for some time, so my stress levels would stand testing right now!
“The Hub has been very useful, especially in terms of having access to a laboratory where we can move in and start using the equipment.
“For a company like us to build up even quite basic laboratory equipment would be prohibitively expensive, but here we were able to use the lab’s fridges and freezers, and they also provide all the quality assurance on the equipment on a regular basis, which again saves us a lot of money.
“Within five years we are aiming to have an over the counter handheld device being marketed directly to the consumer at a place like Boots or a major supermarket. By that time we will have built up our research and development side and we will still be providing the stress screening service.”
John Lee comments “Direct and easy to use stress measuring technology will impact across such areas as fertility clinics, workplace health and safety, product design, policing, and veterinary fields as well fitness markets. David’s company has the potential to change and improve our lifestyle.”
Contact www.oxford-medistress.com
Author: Ally Charles
Created Date: 10-11-2006
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