This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
NHS hospitals could get DNA readers in the next five years
NHS hospitals could get DNA readers to help diagnose infectious diseases within the next five years.
Starting soon, scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) will put handheld DNA readers supplied by Oxford Nanopore through their paces to see if they can reach faster diagnoses for pneumonia.
The trial is funded by public body the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and aims to find a diagnostic tool for approval for use in the NHS in around five to 10 years’ time.
UEA’s trial, conducted with UCL, will pit Oxford Nanopore’s MinION reader against two other genetic tests, as well as traditional NHS treatments.
The MinION can sequence genomes in anything from minutes to days depending on their size and complexity, supplying doctors with a genetic read-out that can help them pick effective treatments quicker.
Dr Justin O’Grady, a lead scientist working on the trial at UEA, said: “At the moment doctors in ICU do not have the tools to rapidly and accurately identify bacteria causing pneumonia and so typically prescribe a broad spectrum of antibiotics through guesswork. We want to take the guesswork out of this.”
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