New Sepsis Test Promises to Save Lives

A rapid diagnostic test developed in Louisiana aims to revolutionize sepsis detection and treatment.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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A new rapid diagnostic test called IntelliSep, developed at a Louisiana hospital, is being hailed as a potential game-changer in the detection of sepsis, a life-threatening condition that causes hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year. The test uses a blood sample to analyze how white blood cells react, allowing doctors to quickly identify high-risk patients and start treatment immediately.

Why it matters

Sepsis is notoriously difficult to diagnose early, as its symptoms often overlap with other common illnesses. The IntelliSep test aims to address this challenge, potentially saving thousands of lives by enabling faster treatment for high-risk patients.

The details

The IntelliSep test was developed by a team of scientists at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It works by compressing white blood cells from a patient's blood sample and observing how they react - healthy cells typically bounce back, while septic cells stretch or flatten out. The test can provide results in under 10 minutes, placing the patient into one of three risk bands. If the test indicates a high probability of sepsis, the protocol is to immediately start treatment.

  • The IntelliSep project began in 2014.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the technology for use in hospitals in December 2022.
  • Eight months after FDA approval, the Our Lady of the Lake Health System administered its first IntelliSep test.

The players

IntelliSep

A rapid diagnostic test developed at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to detect sepsis.

Dr. Hollis O'Neal

Medical director at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and a member of the team that developed the IntelliSep test.

Dr. Christopher Thomas

Chief quality officer at Our Lady of the Lake and the designer of the implementation of the IntelliSep test.

Chris Davenport

A patient who spent over a month in a medically induced coma due to sepsis, and had both her feet and hands amputated, highlighting the importance of early detection and treatment.

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What they’re saying

“One of the problems with sepsis is that sepsis looks like a lot of things and a lot of things look like sepsis.”

— Dr. Hollis O'Neal, Medical director at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (atlantanewsfirst.com)

“What this machine specifically is looking at is your personalized white cells.”

— Dr. Christopher Thomas, Chief quality officer at Our Lady of the Lake (atlantanewsfirst.com)

“We want our teams to say, go get that patient, start the treatment, assume it's sepsis.”

— Dr. Christopher Thomas, Chief quality officer at Our Lady of the Lake (atlantanewsfirst.com)

What’s next

The IntelliSep test is primarily available within the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Louisiana and Mississippi, and is also part of a pilot program at a hospital in Wisconsin. The developers hope the test will become a standard of care in hospitals across the country.

The takeaway

This new diagnostic test has the potential to revolutionize the way sepsis is detected and treated, potentially saving thousands of lives by enabling faster identification and intervention for high-risk patients. Its widespread adoption could have a significant impact on reducing the devastating toll of this life-threatening condition.