ExoSphere
Early Cancer Detection from a Simple Blood Test
ExoSphere is a point-of-care diagnostic platform designed to detect cancer at its earliest stages from a liquid biopsy. By measuring disease-specific extracellular vesicles (EVs) in blood, it delivers rapid, minimally invasive, and radiation-free insights to guide diagnosis and treatment decisions.
Vision
Early and accurate breast cancer detection through EV quantification from blood — a rapid, minimally invasive alternative to radiation-based screening, enabling timely intervention and personalized treatment.
The Challenge
Current EV quantification methods struggle to detect the smallest vesicles with adequate sensitivity, require centrifugation or filtration steps that introduce artefacts, and depend on low-throughput, expensive systems that disrupt routine workflows. These limitations reduce reproducibility, slow biomarker validation, and prevent seamless adoption in clinical care.
Our Solution
ExoSphere uses a capture bead that binds target EVs and transiently rolls along a functionalized surface in a microchannel. Binding events are integrated over the rolling time and measured by optical or non-optical sensors. This rolling-sandwich microfluidic assay is sensitive, specific, and compatible with point-of-care testing (POCT).
Key Advantages:
- Scalable signal integration — Rolling-time analysis reduces noise and enables precise quantification of EVs and proteins.
- Flexible detection — Works with both optical and non-optical sensors for adaptable, cost-effective deployment.
- POCT-ready cartridge design — Integrated microfluidics ensure reproducible, automated operation with minimal user interaction.
- No centrifugation or complex preprocessing — Operates directly on minimally processed samples, fitting seamlessly into existing workflows.
Intellectual Property
Method and device for detecting a concentration of at least one analyte in a sample
Inventors: Moritz Leuthner, Franziska Brändle, Oliver Hayden
Publication No: EP4592678A1
Published as: EP4592678A1, WO2025158067A1
Date of first publication: 30.07.2025
Funding
This project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag (Grant No.: KK5333701AD1)