Through LYVA Labs ADAPT, ambitious Liverpool City Region businesses are supported to turn uncertainty into actionable growth opportunities - including exploring how innovative technologies can open up new markets and solve urgent global challenges.The programme provides established businesses with expert guidance, structured support and access to £15k feasibility grants to explore and validate new products, services and business opportunities.
For iiDiagnostics (a subsidiary of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), supported by the Infection Innovation Consortium, iiCON), the programme helped move an insecticide detection technology closer to real-world deployment.
With its experience in infectious disease control, iiDiagnostics identified an opportunity to improve Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) programmes, a key malaria and vector-borne disease intervention funded by organisations including the Global Fund, PMI (President's Malaria Initiative) and UNITAID. IRS effectiveness depends on applying the correct amount of insecticide to household walls, but current verification methods require laboratory analysis, delaying results and preventing corrective action during spraying campaigns.
Recognising the need for a practical field-based solution, iiDiagnostics adapted its business beyond diagnostic research and consultancy into product development. The result is the IRS-Sensor, a handheld device that provides near-instant feedback on insecticide levels directly in the field.
The Adapt Approach
While the technology had been proven at prototype stage, LYVA Labs funding enabled iiDiagnostics to access specialist engineering expertise from DefProc Engineering to refine the device for manufacture and deployment. The project focused on improving the product and electronic design, reducing development risk and improving manufacturability. Five near-production devices will now be manufactured for field trials in South East Asia in 2027.
Impact
The project has accelerated the transition from prototype to market-ready product, strengthening iiDiagnostics’ capability in device development and commercialisation in a significant global health market.
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Find out how ADAPT can support your business here.