| Tytuł projektu: Nowoczesne systemy analizy erytrocytów do zastosowań w bankach krwi, transfuzjologii i diagnostyce hematologicznej |
Umowa:
GAP 10118800
Czas realizacji:
2024-10-01 / 2026-03-31
Konsorcjum:
Uczestnik konsorcjum-partner
Sponsor:
ERC
Typ:
HORIZON-ERC-POC
Konkurs:
ERC-2024-POC
Lista wykonawców:
| 1 | dr inż. | Sławomir Błoński |
| 2 | dr hab. | Piotr Korczyk♦ |
| 3 | dr inż. | Barbara Kupikowska-Stobba |
| 4 | dr | Tetuko Kurniawan |
| ♦ kierownik |
Streszczenie:
Each year in Europe, an average of two blood tests are performed per capita, driving a global market worth >€70B. A key measurement is haemoglobin, a surrogate for O2-carrying capacity, used for assessing O2 transport by red blood cells (RBCs): a process essential for life and rate-limiting for activities. Maintaining oxygenation is paramount in conditions ranging from critical care to anaemia, and a common intervention is blood transfusion, drawing an annual demand of >20 units/1000 people. While current diagnostics can estimate the amount of O 2 carried in blood, they cannot measure the speed of O2 release from RBCs, a parameter equally important in determining tissue oxygenation.
To address this unmet need, we developed single-cell oxygen saturation imaging, a method for tracking O2 release from individual RBCs. We demonstrated how O2- unloading depends critically on the shape and metabolic state of RBCs, providing a gauge of the blood’s physiological quality. Notably, our method described slower O2
unloading in spherocytic inherited anaemias and in banked blood under storage. To verify significance, we showed how storage-impaired O2 release reduces cortical oxygenation and respiration in perfused human kidneys.
End-users of our technology are blood-banks (quality-control, recipient-donor matching, guiding improvements in materials and methods) and clinicians (novel haematological traits, transfusion and transplant medicine). However, further data are required to re-affirm the medical utility and market for our novel parameter. Teaming with engineers and industry, this project will design and assemble three benchtop prototypes of our device for proof-of-concept testing in a blood-bank (NHSBT, UK), intensive care (GOSH, UK) and research fieldwork (Peru). Positive experience will make a compelling case for measuring O 2-handling. Our ambition is to produce a next-generation haematology analyser as a spin-out or for acquisition by an established industrial partner.