A novel healthcare initiative named the NOSOSENS Project is in development, targeted towards transforming how hospitals tackle the significant threat of drug-resistant infections. This project is being undertaken by Valencia’s General University Hospital Research Foundation, AIMPLAS, Química Deambla-Rogemar, Crespo Printing Group, and AGC. It primarily emanates from the challenge drug-resistant bacterial infections pose to public health.
Approximately 4 million patients within the European Union, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, acquire a healthcare-associated infection (HAI) each year. This has resulted in roughly 37,000 fatalities, making HAIs a leading cause of mortality. The subsequent call for the NOSOSENS project development came about in response to the weaknesses of the current methods used to combat HAIs such as staphylococcus aureus, a particularly resistant strain responsible for 11% of nosocomial infections.
The NOSOSENS project, funded through the Valencian Institute for Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+i) is in a race against time as these drug-resistant infections could increase an estimated death toll to 10 million globally by 2050 if left unchecked. The project is set to drive game-changing advances in current detection methods for pathogens and hospital disinfection protocols.
The core of the NOSOSENS project is built on the foundation of a new bio-based disinfectant designed specifically to eliminate the most harmful of pathogens and a flexible, portable biosensor platform for rapid identification of dangerous bacteria strains; its functionality encompasses an integrated monitoring, management, and display system to allow precise and efficient control over detected threats. Compared to existing diagnostic methods for HAIs which involve the monthly cell-culture-microscopic detection of pathogens, taking an average of four to five days before results are available, NOSOSENS’s approach could provide immediate identification and quantification of harmful bacteria.
The project also addresses the challenges posed by pathogens’ antimicrobial resistance, making traditional disinfectant solutions less efficient. The NOSOSENS team has proposed a pathogen-elimination solution with high biocidal potential whilst also ensuring that it is biobased, biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and mitigates corrosive impact on healthcare facility surfaces.
This duo of innovations shall be evaluated in the actual field within Valencia’s General University Hospital, targeting both healthcare personnel and surgical tools or environments for pathogen detection and disinfection, effectively increasing the safety and minimizing associated risks for the hospital occupants. Armed with these advanced tools, healthcare professionals will be able to harness rapid response technology, enabling the truncation of surface colonization of harmful bacteria and creating a safer hospital environment.