Researchers have developed a method for monitoring bacterial responses to antibiotics in healthcare settings that opens the door to personalized antibiotic therapy for patients. Researchers have developed a low-cost, contactless, portable, and reusable microwave sensor that acts as a fast and reliable evaluation tool for measuring antibiotic resistance using microwave sensing technology.
UBC researchers have developed a method for monitoring bacterial responses to antibiotics in healthcare settings that opens the door to personalized antibiotic therapy for patients.
Using microwave sensing technology, UBC Okanagan Assistant Professor Mohammad Zarifi and his team at the Okanagan Microelectronics and Gigahertz Applications (OMEGA) Lab have developed a low-cost, contactless, portable, and reusable microwave sensor that acts as a fast and reliable evaluation tool for measuring antibiotic resistance.
According to the World Health Organization, the over-prescription of antibiotics has led to the growing resistance of bacteria towards drug treatments. As a result, the newly evolved "superbugs" have put a large strain on healthcare systems globally, says Zarifi.
This newly developed sensor aims to combat the drawbacks of the current Antibiotic Susceptibility Test (AST). It reduces the time and cost taken to conduct the test while increasing the portability for AST to be used in remote regions.
"Many types of bacteria are continuously evolving to develop resistance to antibiotics. This is a pressing issue for hospitals around the globe, while sensor and diagnosis technology has been slow to adapt," explains Zarifi, who teaches at the School of Engineering.
Existing AST practices are expensive and can take up to 48 hours to process results.
"Longer wait times can significantly delay the treatments patients receive, which can lead to further medical complications or even fatalities. This method showcases the requirement for a reliable, rapid, and cost-effective detection tool,'' he says.
The UBC team developed a new sensor to differentiate bacterial growth variations before any visible cues are evident. Therefore, the dosage or type of antibiotics can be fine-tuned to combat the specific bacterial infection.
In the next development phase, the OMEGA lab aims to integrate artificial intelligence algorithms with this sensing device to develop smart sensors, which would be a big leap towards personalized antibiotic therapy.
"Our ultimate goal is to reduce inappropriate usage of antibiotics and enhance the quality of care for the patients," says Zarifi. "The more quality tools like this that health-care practitioners have at their disposal, the greater their ability to combat bacteria and viruses."
This research has been published in Nature Scientific Reports with financial and instrumental support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and CMC Microsystems.
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the University of Western Australia have developed a new imaging method to see where antibiotics have reached bacteria within tissues. The method could help develop more effective antibiotic treatments, reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance.
During bacterial infections like tuberculosis, bacteria enter human cells, which poses a challenge for treatment, as antibiotics must reach and enter all infected cells in order to be effective. If researchers could select for or develop more effective antibiotics based on where they reach, this may reduce the length of treatment needed, which in turn could reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance developing.
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