DARPA's Spleen-on-a-Chip Solves Sepsis  Blood poisoning is the
number one cause of death among critical care patients in the
US, killing more than 200,000 people annually. However, a
radical new treatment option could transform the way we treat
sepsis and save thousands of lives every year.  Sepsis, also
known as blood poisoning, is the result of your immune system
overreacting to blood-borne pathogens causing widespread
inflamation, vessel leakage, which can lead to multiple-organ
shutdown, shock, and sometimes death. Even those who live
through the ordeal are often left hobbled by amputations or
damaged organs.  The normal response against sepsis is the
administration of wide-ranging antibiotics to help fight the
infection while stabilizing the patient's blood pressure,
performing mechanical ventilation or dialysis as needed. The
system developed by The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired
Engineering at Harvard University, on the other hand, physically
traps and removes pathogens using nanotechnology.