Prolight Diagnostics (“Prolight”) today announces that its subsidiary Psyros Diagnostics (“Psyros”) has been able to demonstrate proof-of-performance on its single molecule detection system to reproducibly detect low levels of the troponin protein. These results pave the way for early detection and rule-out of heart attack, which could reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients.
Using human serum samples, troponin levels were measured quantitatively in the single digit nanogram per liter (ng/L) range. These concentrations are indicative of those required for rule out of myocardial infarction as defined by the European Cardiology Society’s Guidelines on Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction.
“This is a breakthrough for our development of a high-sensitivity assay for detection of troponin using our unique and proprietary single molecule counting technology. Our assay, developed for point-of-care testing, will make a valuable contribution to facilitate rule-in and rule-out of myocardial infarction in a timely manner and will lead to major health economic benefits,” said Ulf Bladin, CEO of Prolight Diagnostics.
Patients with symptoms that give rise to the suspicion of a a heart attack make up a large proportion of patients in the emergency department. Studies show that less than 10 percent of these patients are ultimately diagnosed with myocardial infarction.
“In Sweden alone, approximately 250,000 people are examined at the emergency departments every year for suspected heart attacks. Every time someone is examined for a suspected heart attack at the emergency department, the examination costs society tens of thousands of crowns. These costs could have largely been saved through availability of a quick, easily accessible troponin POC-test to rule-out myocardial infarction,” said Ulf Bladin.
