There has been national news coverage for entrepreneur investor Professor Michael Atar.

Professor Atar, an expert in medtech investment, has featured in the national press in relation to the news that a life-saving blood test that can detect sepsis in under 10 minutes by squeezing blood cells “like a stress ball” could be available on the NHS within two years.

US researchers have hailed the development as one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medical history and a “turning point” in the fight against one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

The test works by forcing a small amount of blood through a tiny tube to see if the white, immune-fighting cells change shape.

White cells in sepsis-affected patients become flattened and elongated “like a leech” under pressure. The more leech-shaped cells a patient has, the more likely they are to have sepsis.

Measuring cell shape to spot sepsis isn’t new, but the process has previously taken up to two days and yielded mixed results.

But the ‘IntelliSep’ test, developed and launched by American medtech company Cytovale, can determine the number of misshapen white cells in a matter of minutes and provides a digital reading with an average accuracy rate of 97 per cent.

It is currently in use at a hospital in Louisiana and will be rolled out to 10 other US hospitals by the end of 2024.

The test, which has taken more than 10 years and US$120million to develop, could be seen in all NHS hospitals in as little as two years if the UK follows suit.

Professor Michael Atar, Cytovale’s lead investor and consultant for the past decade, said the test could be the “Holy Grail” that doctors having been seeking for decades.

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