Sudbury company aims to change blood testing
A Sudbury medical technology company is hoping to change the way people access and conduct blood testing.
The Sudbury startup is looking to branch out and provide clients with in-home testing.
After seeing his father test his blood sugar at home, a Sudbury man had an idea.
“I was sitting with my father, who has type-2 diabetes, and he was doing a glucometer test. He got his results and wrote it down in a book. And said to me, now I can have a slice of bread?” said Jeff Sutton, founder and president of Verv Technologies.
“My dad got his test at home but if I want to check my cholesterol, I have to go to a doctor.”
Sutton said most tests are done on blood plasma, but his firm developed technology that separates plasma from whole blood.
“It took us some time to figure it out -- it sounds easy but it’s not easy,” said Sutton.
“We thought outside the box. And with a small analyzer, a consumer can take a finger prick of blood, put it into our separation system, into our disposable cartridge and in 15 minutes get results.”
Sutton said the company’s technology can conduct a total blood test like a cholesterol panel, vitamin D and inflammation index.
“Biomarkers to monitor and manage your health, while you’re healthy,” he said.
Sutton said the company is building a prototype analyzer and hopes to have it ready by October.
The cost for the unit is about $400. Sutton said his company has its sights set on the U.S. market.
“Canada has a great healthcare system but it’s highly regulated," he said. "Our market starts in the States with consumers.”
When asked about the accuracy of the results of the in-home testing kit, he replied: “The results are as accurate as your regular hospital laboratory.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.