FORMAS - Rapid AST for veterinary applications

Project Summary

Antimicrobial resistance is one of our greatest global challenges, predicted to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. One challenge in the fight against antibiotic resistance is fast and reliable diagnostic tools so that antibiotics are used only when necessary and useful. The goal of this project is to develop an on-site diagnostic tool that can be used in dairy farms to determine antibiotic susceptibility (AST) and to identify the bacterial species. The technology is based on microfluidics with electrical read-out to enable a truly portable device that can be used by a non-expert on milk samples. By capturing and monitoring the growth rate of bacteria in microfluidic channels, the detection time for antibiotic resistance can be significantly reduced compared to current practices.

The project is managed by Dr. Sofia Johansson and Prof. Maria Tenje.

Collaborators

• Prof. Johan Elf, Uppsala University
  
• Dr. Oskar Nilsson, National Veterinary Institute, Sweden

Funding