THE BUG BUSTERS; Scanner technology developed in the North East

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), May 15, 2009

HAND-held scanners to detect hospital superbugs are being developed by scientists on Tyneside It is hoped the devices will be used to check all visitors to hospitals to find if they are carrying potentially deadly viruses.

A research team at Newcastle University is looking at a fast and simple way to look at the surface of a micro-organism on samples from patients in care homes to prevent it spreading on admission.

It offers new hope in the fight against superbugs MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

Scientists also believe it could also offer hope in the fight against bio-terrorism germ warfare.

Prof Calum McNeil, leading the programme, said research would incorporate teams across the university, allowing development to take place in the North East.

He said: "We are trying to produce a sensor system which would identify this organism on the body of a particular patient before they go to hospital.

"We should be able to identify what's on the surface, what it could be, and then know if they are likely to be infectious when they are admitted.

"It will cut down a lot of the problems once that gets into the hospital, where people are more susceptible to infection.

"We are trying to create a system which could be used by nurses in the nursing home and by the health professionals in home care. We can make it fast and simple. It's something that hasn't been done before." Results would be analysed in around 10 minutes rather than a sample needing to be grown in a laboratory.

The team was awarded pounds 2m from the research council to develop the system.

It is one of ten projects to receive part of pounds 16.5m research grants to help solve some of the biggest health problems facing the UK by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

The projects focus on developing new techniques for screening and treating major public health issues such as cancer, stroke, Aids, influenza, MRSA and dementia.

It means the North East is at the centre of combating hospital superbugs, with the development of a multi-million-pound research centre at Newcastle University.

The Centre of Bacterial Cell Biology will allow medical experts to investigate how superbugs are able to beat modern antibiotics.

Research will also aim to answer fundamental questions about MRSA bacteria cells and how they develop and can be controlled.

Prof John Magee, laboratory director for the Health Protection Agency's regional laboratory in Newcastle, said. "The project will use developments in nanotechnology to directly detect pathogenic organisms in clinical samples.

"When the technique is fully developed, the Newcastle laboratory will assess it for its ability to detect significant infections in the hospital environment such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile and in the wider community." Earlier this week, a three-year research project was announced to investigate Clostridium difficile cases in the region more closely..