Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility diagnostic

We are developing a 10 minute diagnostic test to help doctors effectively chose antibiotics to
treat urinary tract infections (UTI). The test will be simple to carry out and low cost.
Providing results for a range of antibiotics so that the most effective one is used, protecting
our more important antibiotics, which are needed for more severe infections.
Today, prescription of antibiotics for UTI is essentially guided by a doctor’s ‘best guess’ at
which will be most likely to treat the infection. More importantly, there is limited testing
carried out to show that the UTI is caused by bacteria, so antibiotics may be given when they
are not needed, i.e. when the symptoms are not caused by bacterial infection.
Our 10 minute point-of-prescription test will advise the doctor not only whether there is a
bacterial infection, but also which antibiotic/s from a panel of 8 will be effective against the
bacterium causing the UTI. Such a test will allow us to use our precious antibiotics selectively
and wisely, ensuring they are only given when it is known they will eradicate the bacterial
infection.
If we do not develop these new tests and continue to use antibiotics on patients without
bacterial infections, or on patients where the particular strain of bacteria has resistance to the
first choice antibiotic, the prevalence of resistance will continue to increase.
Our test will allow cost-effective treatment: it will guide the use of a single active drug, only
when the patient requires an antibiotic.
There are many complex ways that bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics and bacteria
are always evolving new ways to quickly outsmart antibiotics. Our test being phenotypic will
keep up with bacterial mutation unlike genotypic tests.