Pathogenica Collaborates With University of Groningen and Amphia Hospital to Reduce Nosocomial Infections
Boston, MA (PRWEB) July 11, 2013 -- Pathogenica, Inc. announced that teams from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and Amphia Hospital in the Netherlands are pioneering the use of the company’s HAI BioDetection Kit to prevent and control nosocomial infections in their facilities.
With approx. 1,400 beds each, both Amphia and UMCG are among the largest hospitals in the world. Pathogenica’s CEO Adeyemi Adesokan remarked, “With UMCG being one of the world’s largest transplant centers and Amphia’s impressive track record with MRSA hygiene, both of these hospitals are models of excellence in infection control. We’re proud to be working with these trusted leaders in their fields to demonstrate the real-world value of our technology.”
In Groningen, the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention (MMB) is piloting the use of Pathogenica’s solution for active surveillance of common drug-resistant bacteria with a focus on Intensive Care Units. Crucial for this approach is the availability of a next-generation sequencing platform, and for this project, the MBB is evaluating use of the Ion PGM Sequencer using data obtained in the “Innovation Laboratory” of Dr. John Rossen and Dr. Bhanu Sinha.
“Our mission is to have eyes for the invisible in order to further improve our care and patient safety,” said Professor Alex Friedrich, Chair of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention at UMCG. “The combination of Pathogenica’s technology with a state-of-the art next generation sequencing platform promises same or next-day turnaround for identification of both strain and drug-resistance information about a bacterial infection or colonization.”
In Breda, the team of Professor Jan Kluytmans, Head of Infection Control and Microbiology at Amphia Ziekenhuis, has also been assessing Pathogenica's HAI BioDetection Kit in the work up of an outbreak of multi-resistant E. coli. “The complex epidemiology of multi-resistant Enterobacteriaceae requires technology that can both address the molecular fingerprint of bacteria as well as the resistance genes involved,” said Kluytmans, who is also the incoming Head of the Dutch National Association for Microbiology. “Pathogenica is one of the first to accomplish the two in one assay.” The ongoing research is using the Ion PGM in combination with Pathogenica’s software to analyze a collection of outbreak-associated isolates.
Pathogenica’s HAI BioDetection kit is a research use only test that enables identification and sub-typing of 12 bacterial species responsible for over 95% of hospital acquired infections. The sequence-based solution is comprised of a multiplexed assay with automated analysis software. Pathogenica’s technology has the capability to bypass the requirement of bacterial isolation and culture, drastically expediting workflow, and can simultaneously process over a dozen samples per sequencing run, with turnaround from extracted DNA to interpreted result in roughly half a day. Species identified by the kit include (but not be limited to): A. baumannii, C. difficile, E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus. For a full list of species and resistance genes identified by the kit, see the Pathogenica website.
All products referenced are for Research Use Only. Not intended for diagnostic uses.
About Pathogenica
Pathogenica combines the power of Cloud-based DNA sequencing analysis and next-generation DNA sequencing to revolutionize pathogen identification and enable real-time bio-surveillance. Its DxSeq™ platform offers new applications in health services through rapid multiplex identification of pathogens and drug resistance genes. Pathogenica’s high throughput pathogen identification system performs rapid and highly sensitive identification of a wide variety of biomarkers using a common assay protocol.
About UMCG
The University Medical Center Groningen is one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands and the only academic center in the Netherlands that performs all transplantations. Within UMCG, the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention (MMB) has primary responsibility to protect patients against infections, to perform diagnostics of infectious diseases and to provide advice for optimal antimicrobial therapy. For this purpose, the department uses state of the art technologies in diagnostics and epidemiology of infectious diseases. It has a high level of expertise in antibiotic resistance (MRSA, VRE, ESBL) in hospitals and the community. The department coordinates several large national and international as well as cross-border networks focusing on molecular epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases/infections, infection control, and host-virus/bacterium interaction.
About Amphia Hospital
Amphia Ziekenhuis is one of the best and largest general clinical hospitals in the Netherlands. In addition to offering superior patient care, the hospital also provides training and research in core disciplines. More than 250 medical specialists, 4,600 employees and 290 volunteers constantly work to improve the quality of care and the sense of reassurance felt by the patients. The hospital operates from several locations in Breda, in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Adeyemi Adesokan, Pathogenica, Inc., http://www.pathogenica.com, 617.238.2111, [email protected]
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