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As mentioned, sepsis causes each year more than 11 million deaths while affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide.<ref name="Arti2">WHO - Health topics - Sepsis, WHO, 2021, https://www.who.int/health-topics/sepsis#tab=tab_1 </ref> Mortality rates from sepsis, according to data from the Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2012, were approximately 41% in Europe versus approximately 28.3% in the United States.<ref name="Arti20">Surviving Sepsis Campaign: association between performance metrics and outcomes in a 7.5-year study. Critical Care Medicine, 43(1), 3–12, 2015, Levy, M. M., Rhodes, A., Phillips, G. S., Townsend, S. R., Schorr, C. A., Beale, R., Osborn, T., Lemeshow, S., Chiche, J.-D., Artigas, A., & Dellinger, R. P., https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000000723 </ref> Severe sepsis causes dysfunction of multiple organs with as a consequence a state of chronic critical illness involving severe immune dysfunction and catabolism.<ref name="Arti21">Sepsis: pathophysiology and clinical management. BMJ, 353, i1585, 2016, Gotts, J. E., & Matthay, M. A., https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i1585 </ref> Despite efforts of experimental and clinical research during the last thirty years, the ability to positively influence the course and outcome of the disease continues to be inadequate. Options of successful and specific interventions are limited and often unsuccessful. If sepsis is detected early and has not affected vital organs yet, administration of different antibiotics have shown to increase chances of survival.<ref name="Arti22">Sepsis—Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Concepts. Frontiers in Medicine, 8, 609, 2021, Jarczak, D., Kluge, S., & Nierhaus, A., https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.628302 </ref><ref name="Arti20">Surviving Sepsis Campaign: association between performance metrics and outcomes in a 7.5-year study. Critical Care Medicine, 43(1), 3–12, 2015, Levy, M. M., Rhodes, A., Phillips, G. S., Townsend, S. R., Schorr, C. A., Beale, R., Osborn, T., Lemeshow, S., Chiche, J.-D., Artigas, A., & Dellinger, R. P., https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000000723 </ref>

Currently, sepsis is diagnosed with standard laboratory techniques, which takes 12-72 hours before results are obtained. These tests are based on blood cultures looking for bacterial or viral infections.<ref name="Arti24">How is sepsis diagnosed and treated?, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/diagnosis/ </ref> However, research shows that sepsis cannot always be attributed to only the infectious agent and the immune response that follows, but also to more complex and indirect factors such as significant alterations in coagulation, immunosuppression and organ dysfunction.<ref name="Arti13">Sepsis: The evolution in definition, pathophysiology, and management. SAGE Open Medicine, 7, 2050312119835043–2050312119835043, 2019, Gyawali, B., Ramakrishna, K., & Dhamoon, A. S., https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312119835043 </ref> Hence, it is often difficult to diagnose sepsis in a patient on time since multiple causes might be at hand. Early diagnosis is therefore key to battle sepsis. With a biosensor that detects IL-6 in the early stages, symptoms can be classified as belonging to sepsis and consequently, the mortality and severity of sepsis can be decreased. Sepsis is treatable if it is identified and treated quickly which in most cases leads to full recovery with no lasting problems<ref name="Arti23">NHS inform Scotland - Sepsis, https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/blood-and-lymph/sepsis, 2020 </ref>.