Tuberculosis

There are a few reasons why the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) can fail. One of them is the lack of adherence to the DOTS strategy (directly observed treatment, short-course, recommended by the World Health Organization). The absence of fast recovery and adverse effects are commonly associated to treatment drop-out. As a result, Multi-Drug Resistant TB is emerging. Pyrazinamide (PZA), the only drug effective against latent TB, produces serious hepatic side effects.

The aim of this project is to develop point-of-care disease diagnostic devices capable of identifying multiple biomarkers for a single disease. This device will be cost effective, and easy to use by people with minimal or no training, in environments with minimal or no infrastructure, and will address disease overtreatment, which will ultimately prevent unnecessary deaths. Follow Michael Serpe on Twitter @SerpeGroup"

Novel paper based diagnostics device which does not require power. It can serve as a platform for cell culture in environments with limited resources because cells grow in paper just as they do in a culture dish. Paper-based tests that use bacteriophage instead of antibody can be produced on-site to diagnose diseases like malaria, HIV or TB"

Ti Kay allows patients to help themselves with technology within their reach when disruptions may otherwise interrupt treatment. Experienced patients support newer patients in taking their TB, HIV medications daily, through phone calls from patient lists generated by an easily accessible computer database. Follow Megan Coffee on Twitter @DokteCoffee"

Wendy Stevens of the National Health Laboratory Service and the University of Witwatersrand will lead a multi­ disciplinary team to assess the safety, cost effectiveness and impact on clinical outcome of implementing point­of care testing for HIV and tuberculosis in several different clinical settings in South Africa. The aim is to create a sustainable vehicle for future point­of­care evaluation and expansion and to provide sufficient information to inform national policy decisions, bearing in mind the need for equity, affordability and accessibility.

Transforming the classic blood capillary tube into a diagnostic device that integrates whole blood collection with molecular testing. Capillaries are fabricated with ‘hydrogel’, an acrylamide gel that includes reagents for detection of malaria and other infections. The device will provide novel diagnostics at point-of-care.

Increasing the detection, confirmation and treatment of children with tuberculosis in Ethiopia - technology meets social justice.

Self-administered drug intake by TB patients, supervised by a trained family member and supported by medical counseling and reminders from the research team will improve treatment adherence and success rates, and stop TB and MDR-TB epidemics.

Outbreaks of Tuberculosis (TB) are hard to prevent and control. As drugs and vaccines are not always effective routes, this project proposes a method to trap and kill the microbes. With nanotechnology, a state-of-the-art approach to prevent the wide spread of the Tuberculosis (TB) bacteria by physically, chemically and biologically specific filtration is becoming a reality. The pilot study focuses on the fabrication of ultrathin, light weight and disposable antibacterial nanofilter into a filtration system. This technology would be transferred to small businesses as a business model.

Early detection of Multidrug-resistant TB can save lives. However, laboratory resources for treatment monitoring are not available in many low-resource environments. Studies have shown that cough frequency changes in patients receiving effective TB treatment but remains unchanged in patients with MDR-TB. Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria is developing software and hardware that enables a smartphone to record and count coughs during first-line tuberculosis (TB) treatment, offering a way to measure the effectiveness of treatment and to identify MDR-TB cases.