SPACE technology partly developed at Daresbury, near Warrington, could lead to quicker and easier diagnosis of stomach ulcers.
Immediate and accurate breath tests that diagnose medical conditions such as stomach ulcers are being developed by Daresbury-based company Tip Chip using a technology originally developed for space by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Tip Chip is a new and innovative technology that it is hoped will enable patients suffering from suspected stomach ulcers to be tested for a bacteria called Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) at their doctor’s surgery in minutes and with laboratory-standard accuracy.
Many patients are currently referred to hospital. Tip Chip has made a breakthrough in this type of medical technology as it works in a similar way, but is almost credit card sized, making it possible in the future for doctors to carry out the tests from their own surgery.
Tip Chip, on the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus, is the result of an innovative collaboration with STFC Innovations Ltd, the wholly owned technology exploitation company of STFC.
The next stage in Tip Chip’s development will be the creation of a portable reader device which relays the outcome of the Tip Chip test.