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MEDICA 2019
Earlycancerdiagnosis through digital testing
The world’s first digital faecal occult blood (FOB) testing device provides a fast, hygienic way of detecting signs of bowel cancer early. The device is being launched on the ABHI UK Pavilion at Medica 2019. The Clinical Services Journal speaks to Oxford MEStar, the company behind the innovation, to find out more.
In recent years, there have been major advances in treatments and screening programmes for bowel cancer, which is both treatable and curable when caught early. Bowel cancer is the fourth leading form of cancer in the UK, and the second most common cause of cancer death affecting men and women.
While the majority of cases occur in people over the age of 50, bowel cancer is becoming increasingly common in younger people - according to Bowel Cancer UK, cases in under-50s in the last 15 years have grown by 48%. More worryingly, bowel cancer rates in young people are expected to increase by up to 90% by 2030, according to a study by the University of Texas. Worldwide, colorectal (bowel) cancer is the third most common cancer in men, and the second most common in women. In 2018 alone, 1.8 million new cases were reported worldwide, according to the World Cancer Research Fund.
While symptoms of bowel cancer do not usually appear until the cancer is advanced, early medical interventions can achieve up to 90% survival. This places a strong emphasis on the need for early diagnosis and screening, which can vastly improve survival rates.
In the UK however, where 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, NHS screening is only available to those over the age of 55. Almost 18 out of 20 cases of
bowel cancer in the UK are diagnosed in people over the age of 60. Yet bowel cancer can affect anyone at any age. There are 2500 new cases diagnosed each year in people under the age of 50. To support early diagnosis, an Oxford- based company has developed what it calls a pioneering digital faecal occult blood testing device. The device uses patented electrochemical technology to detect signs of bowel cancer, producing a clear result after three tests, each completed in just under a minute.
While symptoms of bowel cancer do not usually appear until the cancer is advanced, early medical interventions can achieve up to 90% survival. This places a strong emphasis on the need for early diagnosis and screening, which can vastly improve survival rates.
OCTOBER 2019
World’s first digital faecal occult blood (FOB) testing device
Oxford MEStar, a company originally formed by scientists from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Oxford University, says it has created the world’s first digital faecal occult blood (FOB) testing device, an in vitro diagnostic test that works by detecting blood in stool samples (called faecal occult blood) that is invisible to the human eye. Measure Bowel Health (Measure) is the first product in a series of digital handheld bowel diagnostic tests the company is developing. The device allows patients to test for signs of cancer without having to send samples off to a lab, while providing an easy- to-use technology for clinicians – the digital nature of the device making the detection threshold easily programmed and tailored. Originally launched as an at-home, self- testing kit in the UK in April 2018, a new version of the product, aimed at the primary care market, will be launched on the ABHI UK Pavilion at Medica 2019. MeasurePRO will see new changes to the original design while employing the same electrochemical
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