A critical component of combating infectious diseases is having tools and tests that can help quickly and accurately diagnose and monitor the infection so that the right treatment can be given. Diagnostics are also vital for screening and surveillance of infectious diseases, and are increasingly important in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Across Imperial, researchers are tackling the urgent need for better diagnostics to combat diseases in both high- and low-resource settings. Below, find out how they are developing innovative technologies to diagnose, inform treatment, and monitor the spread of some of the most threatening bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal diseases.
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How these new technologies work
| Technology | Infection | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAMP-based | Malaria, TB, Fungal | Pathogens |
Digital detection sample: Saliva |
| Maldi-TOF based | TB | Pathogen |
Digital detection sample: urine and blood |
| ProtonDX | SARS-CoV-2, RSV, Flu A, Flu B, Human rhinovirus, Malaria, Mpox and Dengue. | Pathogens: Human Assays and Porcine Assays |
Digital detection and Colorimetric sample: Saliva, Blood, Urine |
| DNAe | Sepsis | Pathogen |
Digital detection sample: Blood |
| HIV Quant | HIV | Pathogen |
Digital detection sample: Blood |
| TriSilix | Colds, flu, recurrent infections like those of the urinary tract (UTIs), and COVID-19 | Pathogen |
Digital detection sample: bodily fluids, faeces, environmental samples. |
| DIAMONDS | TB and Kawasaki disease, inflammatory diseases | Host biomarker |
Digital detection sample: Blood |
| Host Transcriptomics |
COVID-19, Bacterial and viral infections. |
Host biomarker |
Digital detection sample: tissue |
| Microneedle biosensors to accurately detect patient antibiotic levels in real-time | Sepsis | Host biomarker |
Digital detection sample: serum, blood, tissue. |
| (?) 4-plex cytokine signature in the BioAID and MOSAIC cohorts | Sepsis | Host biomarker |
Digital detection sample: serum, blood, tissue. |
Explore Imperial's Diagnostic research infrastructure and find a diagnostics expert
Contacts
Institute of Infection theme lead for diagnostics: Natasha Khaleeq, MSc (Communications Officer, Institute of Infection)
