A simple laboratory test has been developed at the University of Turku, which can help to identify myocardial infarction patients more accurately and faster and thus improve patient care. Business Finland has granted funding for the SuperTROPO project, where the functionality of the test will be tested with extensive patient data.
An important aim of the SuperTROPO project is to explore various possibilities for the commercialization of the innovation. The University of Turku has filed a patent application related to the operating principle of the test.
Although the proportion of deaths from cardiovascular diseases among all deaths has decreased considerably since the 1970s, they still cause almost half of the deaths in Finland. The measurement of cardiac troponins from a blood sample is an important cornerstone of myocardial infarction diagnostics. However, the troponin result can be elevated due to a transient cause or a chronic disease in addition to a myocardial infarction.
Those suffering from a myocardial infarction should be identified as quickly as possible because for the patient's prognosis is the better the sooner the heart attack is treated. With the tests in use today, even more than half of the elevated troponin results found in emergency room patients are due to causes other than myocardial infarction. A test that better identifies myocardial infarction patients would be useful, because it would speed up the targeting of the right treatment to patients and reduce the workload in overcrowded hospitals.
A new simple immunoassay test, which recognizes only long troponin molecules, has been developed in the Biotechnology Unit of the Department of Life Technologies of the University of Turku. A ratio can be calculated by dividing the amount of long troponin molecules by the total amount of troponin measured by the troponin tests currently used in hospitals today. In a previous study of 157 patients, this troponin ratio was found to be significantly higher in myocardial infarction patients than in renal patients. There was no difference between the groups in the values of the currently used troponin test. Business Finland has granted funding for a research project, the SuperTROPO project, with a total budget of €700,000. In the SuperTROPO project, the functionality of the method is tested with extensive patient data
"In the SuperTROPO project, we aim to analyse samples from more than 2,000 patients who came to Turku University Hospital due to symptoms suggestive of myocardial infarction. The goal is to demonstrate the performance of the innovation with larger data", says assistant professor Saara Wittfooth from the Department of Life Technologies at the University of Turku.
"The commercial value of the innovation is enormous. The estimated total value of the laboratory tests used for cardiovascular disease diagnostics in the world was 9.6 billion euros in 2021. During the SuperTROPO project, we will evaluate the best options for commercializing the innovation. In addition to the commercial value, the innovation may have great economic significance for the healthcare sector, which is under severe financial pressure", says business development manager Mika Saramäki from the Department of Life Technologies.
