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Epigem, Northumbria University Collaborate to Develop Disposable TB Test

NEW YORK (360Dx) – UK-based Epigem said Thursday that it is collaborating with Northumbria University to develop a cost-effective, disposable tuberculosis testing kit for developing countries. 

The entities will engage in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, managed by the UK government's innovation agency Innovate UK, that provides Epigem with access to experts, research, and data on the Newcastle upon Tyne-based Northumbria University campus.

The collaborating developers will endeavor to build a test kit that uses a minimum amount of electricity, and can still send information from some of the most remote regions of the world.

Tim Ryan, Epigem's managing director, said in a statement that the project will enable integrating electronic components and devices into "a reasonable-size system that is operational, robust, reliable, and cheap."

Epigem’s next generation of products "is challenging and incorporates a set of new technologies requiring leading edge product-design solutions," he said, adding that the system would use biomicrofluidics, molecular diagnostics, microelectronics, computing software, and wireless systems.   

Ryan noted that Epigem is increasingly involved in developing instrumentation for healthcare, including rapid diagnosis of TB in both humans and animals.