Probe speeds detection of deep lung infections in Patients

Using a medical imaging technology that is under development has enabled doctors to see bacteria deep inside patients' lungs for the first time. Early tests indicate the bedside technology may be able to detect harmful bacteria in patients' lungs in less than 60 seconds enabling critically ill patients to be given the right medicine quickly and potentially avoiding unnecessary use of antibiotics.

Each year around 20 million patients in intensive care need ventilators to help them breathe, with up to one-third of these patients suspected to have serious lung infections. Infections are currently diagnosed withX-rays which are imprecise and extracted fluid samples can take days to return a result.fluid

Doctors currently diagnose infections using X-rays, which are imprecise. Tests on fluid samples extracted from patients' lungs may also be used, but these can take days to return a result.

A consortium of researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Bath and Heriot-Watt University, collectively known as Proteus, are developing a new approach with major funding from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The team have designed chemical probes that can be sprayed into patients lungs, which light up when they attach to specific types of infectious bacteria.This fluorescence is detected using fibre-optic tubes that are small enough to travel deep inside patients' lungs.

The team is currently testing the chemical probes in clinical trials involving patients with a chronic condition called bronchiectasis. Tests are also under way with intensive care patients who are being ventilated and are suspected of having pneumonia.

If the approach proves successful, doctors expect it will greatly speed up their ability to provide life-saving treatments for patients in intensive care.The Proteus system aims to cut the use of antibiotics by pinpointing patients who will benefit and those who will not.

In addition to the chemical probes, the researchers are developing bespoke optical fibres and new detector technologies that will allow sensing as well as imaging deep inside the lung. This will enable doctors to measure biological changes in the lung, such as oxygen levels and acidity.

In parallel, the team are adapting the technology to detect and treat other types of infection and illness - such as fungi and cancer.

Proteus has also received funding from the Medical Research Council, Wellcome and CARB-X, the world's largest public-private partnership devoted to antibacterial early development research.