"It's an entirely Norwegian technology," says Rafi Ahmad.
He is a professor of biotechnology at the University of Inland Norway and the main driving force behind the new test.
A small container the size of a mobile phone, connected to a computer.
Within four hours, the invention can identify which bacteria a patient has in their urine, and whether they are resistant to certain types of antibiotics.
But between theory and practice, new obstacles may arise.
Annonse
Rafi Ahmad shows the rapid test.(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
Still testing as if it were the 1800s
"I'm very positive about working on ways to shorten this diagnostic time, so that we get better and faster information," says Gunnar Skov Simonsen.
He is a professor at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and he leads the national monitoring of antibiotic resistance, NORM.
Some urinary tract infections can become serious. In severe cases, they may lead to life-threatening blood poisoning or permanent kidney damage.
If you end up in hospital with such an infection, bacteria from your urine are cultured and tested in a laboratory.
It takes two to four days.
"The technology we use today is basically from the late 1800s," says Simonsen.
Gunnar Skov Simonsen is a professor of biotechnology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and a senior physician at the University Hospital of North Norway.(Photo: UiT)
Delay can lead to resistant bacteria
Doctors often cannot afford to wait for lab results from bacterial cultures.
Instead, they have to begin treatment based on what they believe has most likely made you ill.
"But really, it's an educated guess," says Simonsen.
This fumbling in the dark leads to more of what the World Health Organization has called one of the greatest public health threats of the century.
Antimicrobial resistance.
Simonsen explains it like this:
Annonse
When doctors have to use an antibiotic that inhibits or kills many different bacteria, the natural bacteria in your body will also be affected. This can contribute to resistant bacteria developing in your body.
Later, these resistant bacteria can make you ill. You can also infect others.
If you are admitted to hospital with an infection caused by resistant bacteria that the doctors don't know about, they do not isolate you from the other patients.
Uses ingredients from local companies
With a rapid test, doctors will get information about which types of antibiotics are suitable for you.
That means you receive the correct treatment from the start. And you can get a more targeted type of antibiotic, which doesn't use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
(Foto: Halvor Mykleby)
"I'm originally from India – a country that faces major challenges with antibiotic resistance. That's been a strong inspiration for me to work on this issue," says Rafi Ahmad.
The test he and his colleagues have developed looks simple from the outside.
Various chemicals, enzymes, and magnetic beads are added to a urine sample. All ingredients are made by local companies.
A few drops are injected into a small device.
Then the bacteria's DNA is analysed using software developed by the team.
The program can determine which bacteria are present and whether they carry genes that make them resistant to certain antibiotics.
The completely Norwegian rapid test is currently only available in a laboratory at the University of Inland Norway.(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
Skipping the culturing step
But creating a rapid test like this is far from simple.
The problem is everything else that is found in urine, says Ahmad.
The biggest obstacle is cells from our own bodies – completely different cells from the bacteria that have made you ill.
With the new method, researchers are able to destroy these without harming the bacteria.
By doing so, they skip the time-consuming step of culturing the bacteria.
Urologist Nabeel Yousaf Khan and his colleagues at Innlandet Hospital Hamar have provided urine samples for the development of the new rapid test.
He hopes the test can replace the culturing method used today.
Nabeel Yousaf Khan(Foto:Ole André Lagmandokk)
“The days we spend waiting for results could be what makes the difference for the patient’s course of treatment. That’s why it would surprise me if this test doesn’t end up being used,” Khan says.
For now, however, he hopes Innlandet Hospital will be able to participate in a randomised clinical trial of the new test. He also stresses that any economic benefits should be properly evaluated.
"The results of such a study will be decisive for whether this is something that should to be used in clinical practice and worth spending money on," says Khan.
Gunnar Skov Simonsen also has some reservations.
"There's still a long road from a research paper to actual use in hospitals," he says.
Even so, he believes a test like this could be adopted fairly quickly – provided it is user-friendly enough and practitioners understand that they can get results within just a few hours.
Working on a blood test
That's exactly what Rafi Ahmad plans to focus on next: automating the method and making the test easier to use.
"At the moment, the process is very manual," says Ahmad.
At the same time, the researchers at the University of Inland Norway are working on the next hurdle: creating a rapid test that can detect bacteria in the blood.
Researchers at the University of Inland Norway are also aiming to develop a faster way to detect bacteria in blood.(Photo: Halvor Mykleby)
If they succeed, Gunnar Skov Simonsen notes that there would probably be more willingness to invest time and money.
"Almost all infections that become truly dangerous – whether it's a urinary tract infection, pneumonia, or an infected wound – pass through a stage of blood poisoning," explains Simonsen.
But blood is much more difficult to work with than urine.
"A rapid blood test that can detect infection and prevent sepsis would be extremely important. It would probably win a Nobel Prize," says Ahmad.
