Invention 'a first' for diabetes sufferers
"THIS is it" says Tim Moor, inventor and Sheffield Inventors associate, before blowing into what looks like a plastic bag.
But the crude-looking equipment belies the significance of Tim's device. Known as the EV Analyser, it can diagnose diabetes almost instantaneously by analysing the presence of certain molecules in the breath.
The EV Analyser's efficiency has huge implications for wider testing for diabetes – a condition that can lead to catastrophic health problems, including blindness and heart disease.
There are an estimated 500,000 people in the UK who are not aware they have diabetes – a disease that caused 26,300 deaths among 20 to 79-year-olds in 2005.
The EV Analyser comprises two components, the EV Container (the 'plastic bag'), which holds one's breath, and the EV Analyser, a clumpy box resembling a mid- nineties computer monitor.
Tim – who also runs design consultancy firm G & T Design – invented the device for EV Medical Screening Ltd in 2000. He says: "The potential and implications of the EV Analyser to our healthcare seem to be increasing day by day. As each week unfolds we keep finding new applications for the device."
The EV Analyser's effectiveness in detecting diabetes is patented, and next year it will be clinically trialled – a process that takes up to six months.
If successful, the EV Analyser will be available to GPs nationwide by the end of 2010.
The product is backed by Dr Tony Marchington, an Oxford University chemistry graduate who founded Oxford Molecular, a biotechnology group achieving a 455 million valuation on the FTSE 250 in 1997.
But back to the plastic bag. Tim describes how it works: "Patients blow into the container and then a tube from the container is inserted into a machine – you press 'go' and within 10 seconds you have a result."
Diabetes sufferers will show a higher concentration of acetone in the breath. Other diagnostic molecules include nitric oxide, which can be indicative of asthma and ethane, which is shown to be connected to certain cancers.
Albert Crowe, Professor of Physics at Newcastle University, worked with Tim in 2003 to help develop the physics behind the EV Analyser. He said the EV Analyser is "a significant and exciting impact. The EV system is a non- invasive technique which is cheap and portable as opposed to the very expensive methods used to determine the molecules."
Victoria King, research manager at Diabetes UK, one of Britain's biggest diabetic organisations said: "Non-invasive alternative methods for diagnosing diabetes are worth investigating."
Diabetes is currently tested using urine and blood tests. Urine tests have been found to give false negatives and low sensitivity values and blood tests have to be sent to a pathology laboratory at a cost of 150 per test. There is no current on-the-spot technique for testing patients for the disease and, at 50p a test, the EV Analyser is an effective alternative to current testing methods.
"Testing for diabetes through the breath is a first," says Tim.
Libby Dowling, Care Advisor at Diabetes UK said: "It is very important to diagnose diabetes early as the condition can lead to serious complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputation.
"We know that 50 per cent of people diagnosed with diabetes are already showing signs of the complications at the time of diagnosis."
The EV Analyser will be manufactured in the UK by a leading medical grade manufacturer, RW Injection Moulding. Tim says: "It's a really exciting product and it's potential is growing all the time," highlighting the importance of inventors' groups in helping the development of innovative design.
"Groups like the Sheffield Inventors provide a valuable networking and resource opportunity for inventors."
Anybody is welcome at Sheffield Inventors' meetings, which take place on the first Monday of every month at the Central Library, Surrey Street, 6-8pm.
What do you think? Add your comment below.
READ MORE
Main news index
Your letters.
Features
Check out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic section
Latest sport.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
