Linear Diagnostics has raised $390,000 from investors including the University of Birmingham Spinout Investment Fund.

Linear Diagnostics, a medical device spinout of University of Birmingham, has £300,000 ($390,000) in funding co-led by the institution’s Spinout Investment Fund and VC fund Rainbow Seed Fund.

Matt Hicks, Tim Dafforn and Bioscience Venture established Linear Diagnostics in 2011. The company uses a technology called linear dichroism, which relies on  polarised light to gauge the alignment of detector molecules.

The investment will be used to develop the platform into a handheld device that can detect bacterial infection and identify any potential resistance to antibiotics within minutes.

Initially used in medicine, in time the technology could be rolled out across the agriculture, environment and defence sectors.

Hicks, chief technology officer and co-founder of Linear Diagnostics, said having achieved proof of concept, the spinout now had forged partnerships in order to carry out a hug volume of test and steer rapid development.

James Wilkie, director of enterprise and innovation at University of Birmingham, said: “We have been impressed by the flexibility of the technology.

“In particular, the test is both qualitative and quantitative, which significantly increases the scope of its potential applications.”