SHEFFIELD, England, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Students from the University of Sheffield have developed a device that provides personalized diagnostics for viral and bacterial infections.
The device works by using genetically altered bacteria to quickly detect infections in blood samples. The developers say their new tool will be able to improve the way doctors prescribe treatments for their patients in addition to reducing antibiotic resistance.
"The main aim behind this project is to create more informed prescriptions to address the ever increasing resistance against antibiotics that we face today," team member Saylee Jangam said in a press release. "Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem and this is why we chose to base our project on it. We may not be able to reverse it, but with our device, we could potentially slow it down."
The tool is able to discriminate between bacterial and viral infections by detecting a protein known as lipocalin, which immune system cells generate in high levels in response to bacteria. The developers presented their new device at the international iGEM 2016 competition in Boson.
"What's even more interesting is that we are using genetically engineered bacteria to detect the presence of bacterial infections in blood -- that's right -- using bacteria to detect bacteria," Jangam added.
The detection device was developed by a team of students from various disciplines, including science, engineering and medicine.
