With a rapidly aging population and increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke is becoming one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States and across the world. Up to 80 percent of strokes can be prevented but currently there is no way to assess and monitor the risk of stroke at home.
Eclipse Diagnostics is developing a blood-based testing device to monitor the risk and help prevent stroke at home. The testing is based on the company's patented blood testing platform, which is easy to use and can measure the level of blood markers with a drop of blood within 15 minutes. Previously, there was no affordable way to measure disease markers at home. This new technology enables that.
The device measures a heart failure blood biomarker that, when elevated, indicates a high risk of stroke. A weakened heart cannot pump blood efficiently, and that can lead to the formation of blood clots that can cause a stroke. With continuous monitoring at home — at least once a week — the device can provide an early warning to some patients and recommend in a timely fashion a visit to a physician who will provide the final diagnostics and preventive treatment. The stroke screening test is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and it is not yet approved by FDA.
The company says its goal is to develop and bring to market an end-to-end screening platform that will enable users to monitor their stroke risk on a daily or weekly basis. The test procedure is simple and requires only a drop of blood, which is put onto the disposable, one-time-use test strip. This strip is then inserted into a handheld reader provided to the patient user.
The reader will be Bluetooth-enabled and connected to a smartphone mobile application that will gather and process the information. The application will provide users with a warning and alert if their biomarkers reach high-risk levels and thus, will then instruct them to visit a physician.
Its aim is to offer the device to the 7 million stroke survivors in the United States who are at the highest risk of getting another stroke and with continued monitoring using the technology would be alerted in time to prevent it.
The technology originated from Prof. Robert S. Marks's laboratory at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. Eclipse Diagnostics further developed the concept in Singapore and thereafter transferred the knowhow to a U.S. startup to tailor it for the U.S. market.
Stroke risk screening test is only the first of the platform's applications. The company plans to launch a number of different tests serving medical, nonmedical, and military applications.
The company is currently raising seed funding using the StartEngine equity crowdfunding platform, where anyone can invest and become a shareholder in the company and support the development of the device. To learn more about the product, go to www.startengine.com/eclipse-diagnsotics .