Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge Highlights Emerging Innovations at Unite for Sepsis Symposium

Flosonics Medical receives inaugural Paul and Debra Walker Award following live finalist presentations.

The inaugural Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge (SRI Challenge) brought together innovators from across healthcare, research, and industry to showcase promising advancements in sepsis care during the Unite for Sepsis Symposium, presented by Sepsis Alliance.

Created to spotlight emerging technologies and ideas with the potential to improve sepsis prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and patient outcomes, the challenge received 29 submissions from organizations and researchers working to advance sepsis care.

Following review by an expert judging committee, three finalists were selected to present their innovations during a live session at the event on June 11, 2026. The remaining applicants were invited to participate in a poster session, where symposium attendees had the opportunity to learn more about their work and vote for a People’s Choice Award recipient.

“The Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge was created to provide a platform for innovators who are developing solutions to some of the most complex challenges in sepsis care,” said Thomas Heymann, President and CEO of Sepsis Alliance. “The breadth and quality of submissions received in this inaugural year demonstrate both the need for innovation and the tremendous progress being made across the field.”

2026 Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge Finalists

BLASTID™
Presenter: Paulo A. Garcia, PhD
Team Members: Eduardo Latouche, Tom Feltrup, and Daisy Riquelme
Project: SPLENDID™: Transforming Sepsis Care by Breaking the Blood Culture Bottleneck

Dr. Garcia and the BLASTID™ team developed SPLENDID™, an ultra-rapid benchtop diagnostic platform designed to transform the diagnosis of bloodstream infections. The technology detects and identifies bacterial and fungal pathogens directly from whole blood in under one hour and delivers comprehensive antimicrobial susceptibility testing results within one to four hours, significantly reducing the time required to inform treatment decisions.

Flosonics Medical
Presenter: Jon-Emile Kenny, MD
Team Member: Joe Eibl
Project: FloPatch®

Dr. Kenny and the Flosonics Medical team developed FloPatch®, a wearable Doppler ultrasound device designed to help clinicians determine whether patients with sepsis are likely to benefit from intravenous fluids. Applied to the patient’s neck, the device measures carotid blood flow in approximately two minutes and provides validated hemodynamic metrics, including Corrected Flow Time (FTc), without requiring specialized training, ultrasound technicians, or capital equipment.

PRECISIO
Presenter: James Ford, MD, MAS
Project: PRECISIO: An AI Platform for Delivering Personalized Sepsis Therapeutics

Dr. Ford developed PRECISIO, an artificial intelligence-driven clinical decision support platform designed to personalize sepsis treatment recommendations in real time. The platform aims to help clinicians tailor fluid resuscitation strategies to individual patient needs rather than relying solely on standardized protocols. Dr. Ford is currently conducting multicenter retrospective validation across five University of California health systems to evaluate the platform across diverse patient populations and care environments.

Inaugural Paul and Debra Walker Award Recipient

Following the live finalist presentations, an independent panel of expert judges evaluated the innovations and selected Flosonics Medical’s FloPatch® as the recipient of the inaugural Paul and Debra Walker Award.

The award recognizes innovations that demonstrate significant potential to advance sepsis care and improve patient outcomes through novel approaches to diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or recovery.

“The finalists represented three distinct approaches to addressing critical needs in sepsis care, from rapid diagnostics to personalized treatment strategies and hemodynamic monitoring,” said Heymann. “We congratulate all participants whose innovations contributed to a highly competitive inaugural challenge.”

Building a Community of Sepsis Innovation

The Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge was established as a featured program of the Unite for Sepsis Symposium to foster collaboration among clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders committed to improving sepsis outcomes.

In addition to the finalist presentations, attendees explored innovations showcased during the poster session and participated in selecting the inaugural People’s Choice Award recipient: Culture‑Free Gram Typing of Bacterial Pathogens from Milliliter‑Scale from Rashid Bashir, Enrique Valera, Jongwon Lim, Matthew Wester, Katherine Koprowski, and An Bao Van.

Sepsis Alliance thanks Paul and Debra Walker for supporting the SRI Challenge, and all 29 applicants for their participation and contributions to advancing the future of sepsis care.

To learn more about the Sepsis Research and Innovation Challenge and the Unite for Sepsis Symposium, visit UniteforSepsis.org.