Osmetech plc leads the world in developing electronic nose technology for the detection of micro-organisms such as infectious bacteria, fungi and moulds. Our name derives from "osme", the Greek word for smell, and reflects the importance of technological innovation in our products.
The company was founded - under the name of AromaScan in 1994, based on technology developed at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in the UK. Flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 1994 raised £11.15 million net to facilitate the commercialisation of its proprietary array-based aroma-sensing technology.
In April 2003, Osmetech acquired the assets of Atlanta-based point of care 'OPTI' product line of blood gas analysers from Roche Diagnostics. The OPTI business has established market positions throughout the world with an existing customer base of approximately 4,000 instruments in use.