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Dr. Hempel Digital Health Network | Health Technology News | Find Partners, Sponsors, Technologies

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Since 1998, we connect you with key digital health technologies, decision makers, experts in Germany, India, israel & USA through our events & platforms.

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Yellapa, Vijayashree; Devadasan, Narayanan; Krumeich, Anja; Pai, Nitika Pant; Vadnais, Caroline; Pai, Madhukar; Engel, Nora

How patients navigate the diagnostic ecosystem in a fragmented health system: a qualitative study from India (Journal Article)

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Yellapa, Vijayashree; Devadasan, Narayanan; Krumeich, Anja; Pai, Nitika Pant; Vadnais, Caroline; Pai, Madhukar; Engel, Nora How patients navigate the diagnostic ecosystem in a fragmented health system: a qualitative study from India (Journal Article)

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Nature Research Microbiology Community | A forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology. A forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology.

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Nature Research Microbiology Community | A forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology. A forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology.

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The Nature Research Microbiology Community provides a forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology. The Nature Research Microbiology Community provides a forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas and opinions about microbiology.

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Argentina, an upper middle income country, has a developed healthcare system. Compared with other countries in Latin America, its healthcare system performs well. Health outcomes lag behind the country's potential, [...]

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At CGD, we believe that the thoughtful application of economic theory and evidence can help build a better world. This conviction is clearly shared by Dr. Jean Tirole, Nobel laureate in economics and chairman of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

The last several years have seen the development of many decision-support tools ("value frameworks") for supporting policy and investment decisions. These tools make use of lots of numbers representing factors of undoubted importance in decision making, and they synthesise this information into a decision-relevant score or ranking or choice recommendation. Sometimes it is hard to trace how the numbers are combined; in other cases, although the relevant formulae are spelled out, it is hard to see why the numbers are combined in a particular way.

Is it time to ring the alarm bell on a declining US commitment to global health security? For most of the past year, I would have said no. But after the last few weeks, I'm starting to think so. And the simultaneous news of a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo underscores the stakes at play here.

On May 8, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new Ebola outbreak. While new tools are in place, it's past time to recognize the need to adequately finance preparedness at home and abroad, and to act on existing opportunities to deploy funding and link tightly to progress on preparedness metrics.

Last week, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted an advance screening of the PBS Great Decisions episode, " Global Health: Preventing Pandemic." After the screening, a panel of American global health experts took to the stage to discuss US leadership in global health and health security.

"Better data drive better decisions" is a truism that researchers everywhere are all too familiar with. Increasing the availability, usability, and relevance of data is key to tracking performance and informing smarter, more efficient policies-but too often the data we need simply aren't available, at least not in a useful format. Recently, we've been exploring the availability of data (or lack thereof) related to global health commodity markets in the context of CGD's working group on the Future of Global Health Procurement. To ground the working group's recommendations, we're trying to understand the current state of health commodity procurement in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)-specifically which commodities are procured, by whom, how, and at what price.

We can make UHC happen in our lifetime by targeting investments and incentives on the highest impact interventions among the most affected populations in developing countries.

Early this month, CGD co-hosted a conference with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), highlighting progress, challenges, and lessons learned from the first phase of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI), a seven-year-old results-based funding (RBF) partnership between donors and national governments in health. Uniquely, the event brought together country governments, external funders, intermediaries, and evaluators-from different stages of the program-to discuss motivations, results, issues, and lessons learned.

Aid allocation has been a topic of much investigation across several fields. In particular, many studies have looked at the patterns of development assistance for health (DAH). For example, a study by Hanlon and colleagues found that regional variations in DAH country allocations were only in part explained by differences in disease burden or income levels. If DAH allocation is not primarily driven by the health and financial needs of those receiving it, then on what grounds is it allocated?

In 2013, a CGD working group signaled important benefits of development impact bonds, and worked through some of the "how-to" of design and implementation. Yet five years later, only three development impact bonds have launched. Why is this the case? Why is it so hard to get DIBs off the ground? What can we learn from the structuring and financing of DIBs to date to ease the way for future efforts?

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At CGD, we believe that the thoughtful application of economic theory and evidence can help build a better world. This conviction is clearly shared by Dr. Jean Tirole, Nobel laureate in economics and chairman of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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Plos global health blog

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Health and medicine in a globalized world.

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Antimicrobials in Society – Fresh approaches to the study of antimicrobials in society

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Antimicrobials in Society – Fresh approaches to the study of antimicrobials in society

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Antimicrobials in Society - Fresh approaches to the study of antimicrobials in society

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Learn more about social research and AMR - read our latest commentary and watch a video from the AMIS group.

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Discussion of the WHO's Essential Diagnostics List

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Prince, a three-year-old boy, is brought to the emergency room in Monrovia, Liberia, with fever and a decreased level of consciousness. He is critically ill. He is treated for malaria.

Time is the only way to tell if this was the right treatment choice - but time may not be on his side. An astute nurse asks a visiting doctor if she can borrow a blood glucose monitor and nails the diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes, requiring urgent administration of insulin to save the boy's life.

While Prince was lucky to get a correct diagnosis on time, blood glucose monitors are rarely available in resource-limited clinics in sub-Saharan Africa.

Situations like this occur daily in low-resource settings: A sick patient, a clinical suspicion, but no confirmatory testing. As a result, many patients are misdiagnosed, receive unnecessary or harmful treatments, or die.

Thankfully, blood glucose measurement - an important laboratory test - just made it onto the first edition of the WHO Essential Diagnostics List (EDL).

This new list is a great step forward in making the most crucial diagnostic tests available globally.

However, future editions of this list will need to cover an even broader range of tests.

Beyond the 'Big Three'

The WHO EDL, published on May 16, 2018, is a first step towards addressing the "diagnostics desert" that health-care providers and patients alike still face in many resource-limited settings.

WHO and its expert committee carefully put together a priority list of essential "in vitro" (laboratory-based) diagnostics to guide governments and health-care stakeholders on what tests to make available. The aim was to address the highest priority health-care needs.

(AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

Like its 40-year-old WHO sibling, the Essential Medicines List, this list promises to have a big impact on the availability of laboratory-based diagnostics globally, and on the quality of health-care delivery and population health.

WHO and its expert committee should be applauded for this essential accomplishment, including the effort to look beyond the traditional "Big Three" infections (TB, HIV and malaria).

While the list still has an obvious focus on infectious diseases, the consideration of essential non-communicable diseases (NCD) diagnostics is timely, if not overdue.

Detecting diabetes and heart disease

Cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer and diabetes have emerged as the most important epidemics of the 21st century.

In an era where such NCDs have surpassed infectious diseases as the major killers globally, it is essential then that international organizations, and specifically the WHO, adapt their policies and guidelines to this reality.

The number of NCD-related diagnostic tests that made it onto the 113-item list establishes an important starting point for the future. For example, making blood glucose measurements a priority will help to improve detection of diabetes among the striking 50 per cent of people in low- and middle-income countries who do not know they have it.

This may give millions the chance of timely treatment and improved long-term outcomes.

A vital blood test for Troponin levels, for example - which helps diagnose a heart attack - can be life-saving. Other laboratory tests (e.g. liver function tests) can help diagnose many NCDs.

An incomplete list

Certainly, this list is not yet complete, but we hope future editions can be. We hope, eventually, to see other essential diagnostics included.

The diagnosis of cancers, such as colon, breast and lung cancers, can be facilitated by tumour markers and pathology diagnostics. Neurologic disorders frequently require cerebrospinal fluid and drug levels. Thyroid function studies help diagnose thyroid dysfunction - one of the most common endocrine disorders.

(Shutterstock)

We also hope to see an eventual expansion of the family of "essentials" to include medical equipment and devices.

These include: Growth charts and blood pressure cuffs at a primary-care level; electrocardiogram, X-ray and ultrasound at a secondary-care level; and CT and MRI scanners, lung function tests, surgical devices and fiber-optic scopes at a tertiary-care level.

Affordable and accessible testing

If the EDL is to improve the health of the global population, we will also need to lobby for the five "As" of access: Affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation and acceptability.

With political guidance, will power and necessary pressure, public and private entities can work towards affordability of essential diagnostics. We must strengthen national, regional and local health systems - to work out supply chains and laboratory networks that ensure availability and accessibility for a wide public.

We must develop innovative testing strategies that accommodate the needs of remote and vulnerable populations - such as point-of-care tests that can be used by community health workers.

The expansion of the WHO essential list family to include an EDL is a promising start to broadened access to essential diagnostics globally, and to deliver on WHO's goal of Universal Health Coverage.

We need action now - to ensure the list becomes a powerful tool, addressing an ever-broadening spectrum of diseases. This way, every individual can have the chance of a proper diagnosis, treatment and survival.

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The desperate global need for medical diagnostics

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Prince, a three-year-old boy, is brought to the emergency room in Monrovia, Liberia, with fever and a decreased level of consciousness. He is critically ill. He is treated for malaria. Time is the only way to tell if this was the right treatment choice - but time may not be on his side.

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To provide a forum for our associations to discuss and collaborate on key issues facing the diagnostics industry, especially the promotion of the role and value of diagnostics as a critical gateway to health care. The Global Diagnostics Alliance also serves as an industry contact point for global stakeholders.

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The Lancet Global Health Blog | The Lancet Global Health Blog

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The Lancet Global Health Blog | The Lancet Global Health Blog

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The Lancet Global Health Blog | The Lancet Global Health Blog

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Irene de Vries is a medical doctor with a focus on global health & tropical medicine and a medical anthropologist. She works at KIT Royal Tropical Institute as a maternal and newborn health advisor. Joyce Browne is a medical doctor and epidemiologist and an Assistant Professor of Global Health at the UMC Utrecht.

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Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator | Keeping up with global health & development news, blogosphere, forums, events, jobs and more

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Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator | Keeping up with global health & development news, blogosphere, forums, events, jobs and more

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Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator

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Mar. 12, 2018 - This post originally appeared on Healthcare: The Journal Blog. As Rosita walks through the halls towards her first radiology appointment, she cannot read a single sign. Nurses speak in Spanish nearby, but she cannot understand Read More

Jan. 31, 2018 - Decentralization is frequently recommended as a governance remedy for a wide variety of ills, for example: a means to deepen democratic governance and citizen empowerment, a pathway to improve administrative and service delivery efficiency and Read More

Dec. 21, 2017 - "My worst day in jail is better than my best day on the street." -Kima, a San Francisco woman quoted in Jailcare I recently read the book Jailcare by Carolyn Sufrin, a physician-anthropologist. This is Read More

Dec. 17, 2017 - How many times have you heard that there is a consensus on universal health coverage (UHC)? How often have you been told that the global community agrees on UHC as a goal, and we just Read More

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Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator

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Mar. 12, 2018 - This post originally appeared on Healthcare: The Journal Blog. As Rosita walks through the halls towards her first radiology appointment, she cannot read a single sign. Nurses speak in Spanish nearby, but she cannot understand Read More Jan.

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Last night we awarded our Discovery Awards to 12 teams from the US, UK and India. After launching our seed fund in May and receiving over 70 applications from 19 countries, we are thrilled to announce the winners. The Awards ceremony took place at the Royal Society in London and was hosted by Lord Martin Rees, Chair of the Longitude Committee.

The Discovery Awards were possible thanks to GSK and India's Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.

During the ceremony we also announced that we will be able to run a second round of Discovery Awards thanks to generous support from Merck & Co*. The new funding, totaling £250,000, will enable us to support more teams to develop their ideas and enter the Longitude Prize. The funds will also help broaden the range of innovators competing for the £8 million award to find a rapid test that helps rule out unnecessary use of antibiotics. We are currently developing the fund and expect to open it for applications before the end of the year. Check longitudeprize.org for full details in the weeks to come.

From Bangalore - India
Idea: Biomarker based diagnostic to differentiate between bacterial and viral infections
Team members:
Shridhar Narayanan
RadhaKrishan Shandil
Vijay Potluri
Summary: The FiNDeR team consists of passionate drug hunters located in Bangalore, India, with multidisciplinary expertise and a strong track record of innovation and delivery of novel drugs and diagnostics for infectious disease. The proposed test will explore the possibility of developing a fast and cost-effective diagnostic to differentiate between viral and bacterial infections in the community setting. The diagnostic may also be applied in the intensive care or hospital settings. The idea involves combining the host based biomarker(s) with the viral and/or bacterial proteins by exploiting dielectrophoretic properties of bacteria and viruses for speedy separation on a strip based diagnostic tool. We envision the tool to be easy to administer and interpret by local pharmacist or primary health care personnel even in a remote setting with minimal infrastructure. This test will aid responsible use and reduction in the misuse of antibiotics by distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections in the community setting.

From Bangalore - India

Idea: AMR Signature Assays for Predicting Susceptibility to Existing and Repurposed Drugs
Team members:
Sudeshna Adak
Abhinanda Sarkar
Bhagya C T
Sandhya Sadanandan
Sharmishtha Samantaray
Vidhi Puri
Summary: OmiX Labs is dedicated to developing diagnostic tools and devices that can be used outside of hospital laboratories. Our initial products are based on nucleic acid testing (NAT) for infections from blood and urine samples. The high sensitivity and specificity of our technology lends itself naturally to detecting antimicrobial resistant strains of pathogens by seeking out genes and mutations known to be linked to resistance.

The founders come with extensive experience in quantitative biomedical science, having led groups and carried out research at GE Healthcare, IBM Research, Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. The team of highly motivated scientists have expertise in fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, applied biotechnology and synthetic chemistry, clinical research, statistics and bioinformatics. The multidisciplinary expertise is helping the team carve a path from bench to bedside in the development of antimicrobial resistance tests.

OmiX Labs is based in Bangalore, India, and has several collaborations including Indian Institute of Science, National Chemical Laboratory, and rural diagnostics centres in India. Our mission is to make healthcare different by bringing antimicrobial resistance testing to even the smallest of diagnostic centres and clinics and help tackle the menace of drug resistance.

From Delhi - India
Idea: Resistance-genes-array based rapid detection of AMR and algorithm-driven therapy
Team members:
Prof. J.S. Virdi
Dr. Manish Kumar
Dr. Priyanka Bajaj
Ms. Abhishikha Srivastava
Dr. Neelja Singhal
Mr. Nambram S. Singh
Summary: The University of Delhi South Campus' AMR Team includes microbiologists, bioinformaticians and biotechnologists trained in AMR, microbial genomics and informatics. The team has two advisors: a clinical microbiologist specializing in AMR and a microfluidics expert. The team members have been working on AMR for over a decade.

The team is developing an under-30 minute test for detection of antimicrobial resistance in a clinical sample, and identify the most appropriate antibiotic for treatment. The test intends to integrate three proven technologies: a microfluidics platform incorporating microarrays for detection of antibiotic resistance genes including mutations, and an algorithm-driven selection of most effective antibiotics for treatment. The hardware and the software are to be housed into a tablet format which is portable, battery/on-line operated and USB enabled.

The test will enable the physician to detect AMR and prescribe the most effective antibiotics to a patient within 30 minutes of when the patient lands in the clinic or hospital. This will stop all empiric prescription of antibiotics, allow quick control of infections and reduce emergence of antibiotic resistant strains. All these together will translate into a substantial reduction in use of antibiotics and thus reduction in emergence of AMR.

From Delhi - India
Idea: SiMED: A novel portable device for early stage detection and categorization of blood bacterial infection
Team members:
Vikas Pandey
Saurabh Singh
Dr. RaviKrishnan Elangovan
Summary: Valetude Primus is a technology spinoff from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, with the mission to develop innovative, affordable and quality healthcare solutions. We started our journey with infectious disease diagnosis and motivated by the fact that almost 30% of annual deaths in low resource countries are caused by communicable diseases. Moreover, rampant misuse of antibiotics has generated resistance among common microbial pathogens increasing mortality and morbidity.

We have developed an affordable, rapid diagnostic technology named SiMED (Spot Immuno Magnetic Enrichment Device) that might reduce current diagnosis turnaround time from several days to few hours. SiMED is a novel patented technology capable of enriching infectious cells 10000X and with a detection limit of ~10 cfu/ml. The principle of this technology is based on selective isolation of the bacterial pathogens among millions of other blood cells using super paramagnetic nanoparticles and confirming the microbial infection using fluorescence imaging. SiMED is an automated, portable, contained system that omits the requirement of additional infrastructure and trained microbiologists. This technology, if deployed, will enable physicians to prescribe the antibiotics only to the patients who need them. We believe that is the way forward for our healthy future.

From Hyderabad - India
Idea: A rapid molecular assay to test for bacterial pathogens in patient samples
Team members:
Dr Radha Rangarajan
Surobhi Lahiri
Rasika Venkataraman
Summary: Vitas Pharma, a company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibacterials and diagnostics, has prototyped a rapid molecular test that detects bacteria in patient samples with high specificity and sensitivity. This low cost, 45 minute assay is easy to perform and amplifies bacterial sequences using a technique called loop mediated isothermal amplification. The assay has been validated against clinical isolates and direct clinical samples such as tracheal aspirates, urine and blood.

Over the next year, the assay will be optimised for run time, range and specificity of bacterial species detected. It is envisioned that the kit will ultimately consist of three tests per sample and will flag the presence of bacteria in 30 minutes. Unlike other currently available tests, this assay combines speed and accuracy with low cost.

The Vitas team is led by Dr Radha Rangarajan. Radha received academic training at Stanford and Rockefeller Universities and the Harvard School of Public Health. Her team includes Dr Surobhi Lahiri and Rasika Venkataraman, both molecular biologists and microbiologists with extensive experience in characterizing drug resistance.

From Cardiff - Wales
Idea: LAMP DNA amplification for a diagnostic test of bacterial infections
Team members:
Jeroen Nieuwland
Emma Hayhurst
Summary: Our idea is to use loop mediated isothermal amplification of DNA (LAMP) to selectively detect the presence of specific bacterial species, or resistance genes, in a patient sample. This technology has the advantage of being quick (less than 20 minutes), cheap (no expensive equipment, reagents or storage conditions required, and reaction costs of approximately 20p) and simple (a binary answer for the presence or absence of template DNA), which gives it global potential as an affordable point-of-care diagnostic tool.

As a team we have both molecular and microbiology experience, specifically with DNA amplification technology (Jeroen) and antibiotic resistance in bacteria (Emma). We have collaborated with USW engineers to build a prototype device, and we plan on using our Discovery Award to develop our assay further, concentrating firstly on vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus, and UTIs and E. coli. Our long term vision would be the not-for-profit production of the low-cost desktop LAMP device, and several test strips with varying levels of specificity depending on the nature of the infection, and what is required.

From Bradford - England
Idea: Polymers for Disclosing Bacteria
Team members:
Prof Stephen Rimmer
Dr Thomas Swift
Dr Richard Hoskins
David Pownall
Heather Reeve
Summary: Professor Stephen Rimmer is the Head of the School of Biology and Chemistry at the University of Bradford. His team, the 'Polymer and Biomaterials Laboratory', have spent several years studying the interactions between synthetic polymer materials and biological systems. His current team, with Dr Thomas Swift (Lecturer in Polymer Characterisation) and Dr Richard Hoskins (Research Assistant) are working on numerous Research Council, industry and charity funded grants; testing biological sensors and medical devices. Currently their devices are undergoing testing in advance of international clinical trials.

This team have developed a bacteria binding sensor that they hope could be used to give clinicians warning about bacterial infections. Positive identification of infections could be used to prevent further spread of diseases, and earlier accurate clinical diagnosis could help prevent doctors administering unnecessary antibiotics. This is a vital step in slowing the spread of drug-resistant diseases which are fuelled by over prescription of medication and uncertainty of the specific type of pathogen.

From Chipping Warden - England
Idea: Development of rapid, easy to use tests for detection of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria suitable for point of care use
Team members:
Bruce Savage
Dr Graham Cope
Dr Graham Mock
Alex Savage
Summary: A technology developed at the University of Birmingham by Dr. Graham Cope is being utilized to exploit an invention by Dr. Graham Mock, assisted by Alex Savage. The test can detect genes inside antibiotic resistant bacteria, including the 'superbug' MRSA. Usual tests take three days. Our test, called MicroScreen, takes about thirty minutes and does not need expensive equipment or highly trained staff. Work will continue to detect the so called 'nightmare bug' CPE which is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics and is often fatal and spreading fast across the world. The technology can also be used to detect other bacteria including deadly strains of drug resistant TB. Bruce Savage, CEO of GFC Diagnostics, who is leading the team, says: "Drug resistant infections are already on the rise with up to 50,000 lives lost each year to antibiotic resistant infections in Europe and the US alone. This rapid test will give a quick diagnosis and prevent the unnecessary use of broad spectrum antibiotics. It will reduce healthcare costs by helping to stop the spread of deadly infections throughout a hospital."

From Norwich - England
Idea: Sugar devices to detect and discriminate microbial and viral pathogens
Team members:
Rob Field
David Russell
Brydie Moore
Jordan Hindes
Stephan Goetz
Simone Dedola
Simona Chessa
Irina Ivanova
Summary: Norwich-based Iceni Diagnostics, a spin-out from the John Innes Centre and the University of East Anglia, has developed novel diagnostic strategies based on carbohydrate-functionalised nanoparticles. Their library of bespoke glyconanoparticles, each presenting a different sugar, can specifically recognise different targets: they can be deployed in sensitive assays to detect and discriminate bacterial and viral pathogens and protein toxins. The approach can be used to support the informed, targeted and quicker prescription of antibiotics vs anti-virals and it has the potential for patient stratification: those with bacterial infections needing antibiotics vs those with a viral infection not needing antibiotics. These nanoparticle-based assays, which are fast, cheap, easy to use and interpret and require minimal training, lend themselves to point-of-care use. They fit well into current standard hospital workflows and other settings, including applications for agriculture and aquaculture.

The multi-disciplinary Iceni Diagnostics team comprises analytical chemists, carbohydrate biochemists and microbiologists. With proof of concept in hand, the company are moving forward with the evaluation of clinical samples and widening the repertoire of pathogens that can be detected with their nanoparticle approach.

From St Andrews - Scotland
Idea: SLIC susceptibilities at the point of care
Team members:
Stephen Gillespie
Robert Hammond
Giles Hamilton
Kerry Falconer
Catherine Cooper
Ewan Chirnside
Summary: Shortening the time from specimen to result in antibiotic prescribing is the main goal of the Orbital Diagnostics team. Current methods are too slow resulting in "blind" antibiotic prescribing in many cases. Our device combines a laser, an integrating sphere and a light collector linked by innovative electronics to make the Scattered Light Integrated Collector (SLIC) device. It performs susceptibility testing in 20 minutes instead of 20 hours, shortening the time to comprehensive diagnosis. The Orbital Diagnostics team has been supported by Scottish Enterprise to take this product to market.

The Discovery Award will help us to develop SLIC into a point of care device. The new device will both detect infection and also determine the right treatment for the pathogen. The exquisite sensitivity of SLIC means that this could be achieved in as little as two hours.

The Orbital Diagnostics team includes Robert Hammond, post-doctoral research-assistant and Stephen Gillespie, Professor of Medicine, at the University of St Andrews, supported by Ewan Chirnside, the University Knowledge Transfer Director, and Giles Hamilton, Commercial Champion.

From Boston - United States of America
Idea: Phenotypic diagnostic method for fast pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing
Team members:
Kwangmin Son
Roman Stocker
Summary: Our team 'PhAST' stands for 'the fastest Phenotypic Antibiotic Susceptibility Test'. We are a team of two engineers and together have 18 years of research experience in microbiology. Our team has a strong expertise in characterizing phenotypic traits of microbes by combining real-time imaging and microfluidic technology. Now, we aim to apply our expertise to develop a disruptive point-of-care diagnostic method for fast and accurate (i) identification and (ii) antibiotic susceptibility testing of clinically relevant pathogens.

Our team has the ability to dynamically image microbes, at the scale of microbes. We are capable of working with a wide range of species, in a wide range of body fluids by sequentially capturing and quantifying how microbes respond to changes in their surrounding chemical environment. Based on this core expertise, we will initially focus on identifying and testing antibiotic susceptibility of the leading causative agents of urinary tract infections. A typical test will compare direct patient urine samples, with and without antibiotics, for pathogen identification and determination of their susceptibility to antibiotics based on changes in phenotypic biomarkers.

From St Louis - United States of America
Idea: The iNDxer test for rapid microbial detection
Team members:
Dr. Tom Cohen
Dr. Somes Das
Summary: Nanopore Diagnostics is developing a rapid, multiplexed, and portable platform for diagnosing microbial infections. Their product offering, called the iNDxer, will allow physicians to screen for up to 30 different pathogens and markers of antibiotic resistance in under 30 minutes. The iNDxer will be run on a small and portable device that is capable of functioning outside the laboratory. It will be a fully contained assay: patient sample in, result out. The goal is for tests to be able to be run in any healthcare situation, and deliver actionable results during initial patient examinations. The platform will use a consumable cartridge specific to a particular clinical microbiology application (e.g., urinary infections, respiratory infections, etc).

The underlying technology behind the iNDxer is a nanopore sensor that directly counts microbial nucleic acids. Just as a change-sorter can quickly count all the nickels in a change jar, the iNDxer can quickly scan for pathogen-specific nucleic acids in a clinical sample. The biomedical scientists at Nanopore Diagnostics have teamed up with the lab of Dr. Liqun Gu, inventor of the nanopore counting technology, to bring this promising technology to market.

Stay tuned for a short video of the night!

For more information about each team, please contact .

*Merck & Co. refers to Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S.A.

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Last night we awarded our Discovery Awards to 12 teams from the US, UK and India. After launching our seed fund in May and receiving over 70 applications from 19 countries, we are thrilled to announce the winners. The Awards ceremony took place at the Royal Society in London and was hosted by Lord Martin Rees, Chair of the Longitude Committee.