Infectious Disease

The accurate diagnosis of active TB, including drug-resistant forms, requires methods that can detect very small quantities of DNA from the TB bacteria in the infected person. Using destabilizing DNA that can be routinely made with common reagents, a small fragment of the TB DNA sequence can be amplified and detected without temperature cycling.

Cell culture is the gold standard for in TB diagnosis. It is inexpensive, provides viability and drug resistance information, but takes 4-6 weeks. Through miniaturization and parallelization of sample analysis, we propose to reduce the assay time to a few hours and obtain viability information.

The incidence of multi-drug resistance tuberculosis is rising in many resource-poor regions of the world, significantly complicating the management of this deadly disease. Dr. Soleymani’s research group at McMaster is developing a handheld electronic platform for inexpensive diagnosis and treatment selection of TB, which will save lives and improve health in the most resource poor regions of the world.

Much of the developing world has no access to basic screening technology for tuberculosis, a disease that affects a third of the world’s population and was responsible for 1.7 million deaths in 2009. We are going to build a $1000 digital X-ray detector to accurately and rapidly detect tuberculosis in these underserved populations. Follow Karim S. Karim on Twitter @karim_s_karim"

There is a lack of an accurate, rapid, low-cost test for Tuberculosis which is difficult to diagnose. Partnering with industry, they are aiming to develop a simple strip test for extra-pulmonary TB in India, validate and commercialize it, and make it affordable for under $2/test, by combining technological and business-model innovation.

Jonathan Blackburn of the University of Cape Town in South Africa will use tuberculosis as a model disease to develop a low-cost, hand-held biosensor that combines the selectivity of antigen-specific DNA aptamers with the exceptional specificity of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy in order to reliably quantify pathogen biomarkers present in patient specimens at the point-of-care.

To validate a telediagnostics system to detect TB and MDR to be utilized in laboratories lacking financial and technical resources, in the settings where most TB occurs. We will enable automatic remote diagnosis using Internet and cellphone telephony.

India accounts for 25% of global tuberculosis (TB) incidence. To evaluate variations in practice quality, and identify ways to improve TB management in India, this project, led by Canada's McGill University, will send researchers into clinics posing as a patient with standard TB symptoms. The project builds on earlier work related to angina, asthma and dysentery, which revealed incorrect diagnoses and treatment. India needs a strategy for measuring and improving quality of TB care. We will use “mystery clients” posing as TB patients to evaluate quality.

We will empower frontline healthcare workers (ASHAs) to better care for pregnant women in rural areas. Armed with smartphones and rapid tests, ASHAs will screen for HIV, co-infections and anemia, offer updated health info and link women to treatment.

This project aims to introduce new e-Health technologies that provide accurate diagnostics and better patient management at point-of-care. Immediate electronic reporting of cases can be accomplished in low resource settings (rural Tanzania), and health care system and public health outcome efficiencies can be improved.  "