Claro Scientific, USF Create SpectraWave To Get Rapid Blood Test Results

Claro Scientific, LLC, based in St. Petersburg, in partnership with the University of South Florida, have created an innovative diagnostic product platform called SpectraWave. This technology allows those in the medical profession as well as the patients they serve the ability to get results for certain blood tests within minutes instead of hours.

In 2010, Claro joined forces with the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), along with USAID, part of Health and Human Services (HHS). The goal of the partnership is to understand how to bring SpectraWave to patients in Africa to test for anemia and malaria.

"If a child in Africa is found anemic and is treated for anemia without knowing if malaria is present, the drugs used to treat anemia can turn malaria into a fatal infection," says Tom McLain CEO of Claro Scientific.

Claro is currently doing studies alongside BayCare to rapidly identify bacterial infections, such as staph, in blood.

"For every hour that a bacterial infection in the blood goes undiagnosed, your chances of dying from it goes up by almost eight percent," McLain says. "This is a case where not only hours but minutes count. Through the use of SpectraWave our studies show that we are able to identify the cause of infection in less than five minutes."

McLain says the core technology behind SpectraWave was developed at USF through grand support totaling $12 million. He says that there have been enough advances in technology to manufacture commercial ready systems for clinical studies, however funding is needed.

"Bringing SpectraWave to market requires a lot of different skill sets," McLain says. "We are looking for partners in the Tampa Bay area and throughout Florida who complement our expertise. Those would be partners in manufacturing, system integration, clinical trials and market studies who are experts in their respective fields."

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Tom McLain, Claro Scientific