Engineer finds way to pull diseases from blood using magnets

Diseases are in the top five of many people’s deep fears. Some families are wreaked with diseases, having multiple loved ones struggling in some way or the other. But, not all of them are curable. An engineer may have discovered the ultimate preventative. He has developed a method for extracting diseases-causing microbes from our blood using magnets. The results from their research have been so successful they are getting ready to test it on humans.

Disease extracting magnets

Many diseases start in our blood. Leukemia, blood cancers, malaria, sepsis, you name it. They have been the leading causes of death in our societies for some time now. However, thanks to a British engineer called George Frodsham, there may be a way to extract these blood cells from our bodies using magnets. His theory is still in the research phase. But, they are making waves in the medical research industry with the potential and probable success of “magnetic Haemofiltration.”

How does it work? In short, George was fascinated with how magnetic nanoparticles could be forced to bond with human blood cells. He was inspired by this and thought he might be able to put the same magnets theory to work, but with a health twist. In the past, doctors and scientists would use magnets to make the cells more visible in images for tests and diagnoses. George thinks he might find a way to use magnets to extract the unwanted disease-causing blood cells from our bodies. “When someone has a tumor you cut it out,” he said in an interview with The Telegraph. “Blood cancer is a tumor in the blood, so why not just take it out in the same way?”

Breakthrough in medical science, the Medisieve

Cancer survivors will attest to how debilitating chemotherapy is. Eradicating white blood cells from the body through chemotherapy is intense. Those who have survived often take years to get back into shape physically, mentally, and emotionally. Some say they are never the same as they were before the cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy treatments. Imagine if George Frodsham’s theory could eliminate the need for chemo or other medical treatments.

George Frodsham’s idea has since been dubbed the Medisieve. In May last year, MediSieve confirmed they were given the green light for their first-in-man (FIM) clinical study. Yes, that’s right. This means their research and study results were so successful, they were permitted to test it on a human being for the first time. The FIM was scheduled to start in June 2022. “This is a huge step for us as a company – this is the first time our products are going to be used in humans,” said Dr. George Frodsham. “We couldn’t be working with a better clinical team than the one at Radboud. And, we are very excited to see the results. This study will bring us one step closer to getting our product – the first, we hope, of many for our platform – approved for use in hospitals around the world.”

Positive test results

In December last year, the Medisieve company announced they had positive results from the first human trial. In short, they had 11 volunteers participating in the study. “The main inclusion criteria were healthy adults, 1:1 females to males ratio and aged 18-50 years,” read the Medisieve website.

However, the results showed a positive result. Dr. Cristina Blanco-Andujar, CTO at MediSieve, said, “We are delighted with the results obtained in the phase 1 study, which looked at the safety of the Delivery Platform. No significant changes on the clinical chemistry or blood counts were observed throughout the study. This includes no significant change in platelet counts, which is commonly observed during extracorporeal treatments. The study has demonstrated that the treatment is well-tolerated and safe in healthy volunteers. This is the first step towards opening the horizon of possibilities of MediSieve’s technology with the introduction of our targeted Therapeutic Magnetic Beads.”

Lastly, Dr, George Frosdham said, “This trial is the first time our products have been used in a clinical environment. We are thrilled that the results have been so positive. The Delivery System is the key product that underpins our platform, and this data enables us to push toward the full potential of the technology. The next step for us is to perform clinical studies with our Magnetic Bead products, which have already undergone significant preclinical validation. We have three Bead assets under development, each solving a unique clinical problem, so we are very excited about the future.”

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