Engineering prof explores new way of detecting sepsis in newborns

Following the birth of her son, who needed heel-prick blood tests to monitor his glucose level, an engineering professor at the University of Calgary began to investigate whether this same simple, minimally invasive test format (which involves taking a small drop of blood from a baby’s heel) could also be used to screen newborns for sepsis, a serious and potentially life-threatening infection. 

Dr. Richa Pandey, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Schulich School of Engineering, is developing and validating a molecular diagnostic device that could quickly detect neonatal sepsis using just a few drops of blood or saliva.  

Sepsis in newborn babies is a serious life-threatening medical condition that happens in the first 28 days of life. It’s usually caused by the presence of bacteria in newborn's bloodstream, often due to an immature immune system. It can happen in utero, during birth or when a baby gets an infection from their new environment. In the U.S., more than 18 babies under 28 days old die from sepsis each day.

The current gold-standard test for diagnosing neonatal sepsis in babies who show symptoms is a blood test. When sepsis is suspected, doctors usually start empiric antibiotic treatment, meaning they give broad, general antibiotics based on the most likely causes of infection, rather than waiting for a confirmed diagnosis. Because blood culture results can take time, treatment often begins before sepsis is confirmed. Once the specific infection is identified, the therapy can then be adjusted to a more targeted antibiotic.

“The emphasis on empiric antibiotic use is driven by long time to get results from the blood culture, but this approach can contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Our test will reduce that,” says Pandey.

Inspiration from glucose testing device

In Canada, a heel prick is routinely used at birth to collect blood for newborn screening, and the same minimally invasive technique is used clinically to monitor glucose levels in at-risk newborns. 

Inspired by this widely used clinical method, Pandey is now working on a bedside test for neonatal sepsis that would work a lot like a glucose monitor, but instead of measuring sugar, it would check for several sepsis biomarkers at once.

“I thought, this is already in the clinical setting, can we use the same process to detect sepsis biomarkers in blood or saliva? This would reduce pain in neonates who require testing and need a full panel of bloodwork to detect sepsis,” she says. “Currently, it also takes 48-72 hours for the blood culture results. What if I could develop a rapid neonatal sepsis test that could support quick decision making in clinics?”

The device Pandey is building is small, about the size of a credit card, so it can be used in remote or resource-limited settings and potentially even outside traditional hospital environments.

Another advantage is that the platform may be able to detect an antimicrobial resistance tied to one of the most commonly used antibiotics for treating sepsis.

Establishing proof of concept

Back in her laboratory, with the help of a lead postdoctoral associate Dr. Paul Williamson, PhD, and graduate student Aamena Yusuf, Pandey is now working on a proof of concept for this device. 

Her team is working to validate the interaction between the biomarker and a bioreceptor, a biological component that specifically recognizes and binds to the target molecule to enable its detection. Once that interaction is confirmed, the system will be integrated onto the sensors to determine whether the same binding can be reliably detected. The next phase will involve preclinical validation, including sample studies, to evaluate the device’s performance.

Partnerships

The team is seeking clinic partners to support preclinical and feasibility studies in a hospital or clinical setting. The preclinical study will allow the research team to assess the performance of the test in the clinical sample, while the feasibility study will help them understand how the test functions in practice, including usability and other human factors.

The development and validation of the bacterial identification chip for neonatal sepsis is one of five projects in the One Child Every Child Platform Advancements in Technology for Child Health (PATCH) program.

The PATCH program addresses critical gaps in paediatric and maternal health care by developing modular, scalable technology solutions that are child specific and adaptable across a range of health needs. This program leverages Alberta’s strengths in biomedical engineering and child health innovation to co-develop transformative health technologies through meaningful, inclusive collaboration with clinicians, researchers, end users and industry partners.