Dr. Claudia dos Santos, at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute in Toronto, brought together a team of researchers to develop a new molecular-based blood test for predicting sepsis risk with high accuracy.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
CRAFT Co-Directors and UBC Collaborator Drive Breakthrough in Sepsis Diagnostics
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s response to infection triggers widespread inflammation and organ failure—claiming an estimated 11 million lives globally each year. Critically, each hour of delayed treatment increases the risk of death by approximately 8% but current “gold standard” diagnostics through blood culture can take days. In a groundbreaking effort led by Dr. Claudia dos Santos, co-director of CRAFT at Unity Health Toronto, in collaboration with Dr. Teodor Veres at the National Research Council of Canada and Dr. Bob Hancock at the University of British Columbia, researchers have developed a novel diagnostic tool for early sepsis detection that integrates clinical data, machine learning, and centrifugal microfluidics.
PREcision meDIcine for CriTical care (PREDICT) platform for sepsis risk detection at the point-of-care using the PowerBlade device for prognostic biomarker detection in under 3 hours. Figure adapted from Nat Commun 16, 4442 (2025).
The test uses a six-gene expression signature, Sepset, identified through machine learning analysis of over 3,700 patient samples, to predict patient deterioration within 24 hours of clinical presentation with over 90% accuracy by molecular detection methods. When paired with PowerBlade, a “lab-on-a-chip” platform that processes a tiny blood sample using advanced microfluidic technology, results can be delivered at the point-of-care in under three hours. Recently published in Nature Communications and featured in The Globe and Mail, this interdisciplinary initiative exemplifies the transformative potential of cross-institutional collaboration in tackling sepsis, where every hour counts and diagnosis too often comes too late.
Globe and Mail article can be found here:
Nature Communications publication can be found here:
Dr. Claudia dos Santos, co-Director of CRAFT and Scientist and Critical Care Physician at Unity Health Toronto (Photo: Michael Dryden).
