Bacterial infections are the leading cause of disease and death worldwide; an ongoing public health problem exacerbated by slow or inaccurate diagnostics. Now NIBIB-funded scientists have engineered an inexpensive, paper-based test that can rapidly identify multiple types of bacteria.

The research team at the University of Nebraska used a complex blend of microbiology, chemistry, and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a testing platform that appears deceptively low-tech—built for use in remote low-resource environments such as field hospitals and rural clinics.

"We have designed this technology to be extremely sensitive and accurate for identifying bacterial species while also being easy to manufacture," explained Denis Svechkarev, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the department of pharmaceutical sciences and co-first author of the paper with graduate student Aayushi Laliwala. "The test is also durable enough to survive shipping to remote locations and simple enough to be easily used by healthcare personnel with limited training and equipment."

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