Siemens Healthineers has contracted with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to improve antibiotic treatment for sepsis patients.
Sepsis is a life-threatening blood infection and the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals. Collaborating with Janus-I Science and Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), the team aspires to develop a new diagnostic tool using next-generation sequencing that within six hours of blood draw would rapidly detect and identify a range of bacteria and fungi, and provide information about their likely resistance to certain antibiotics. Successful completion of the three-year, $5.5 million contract would create a prototype that would support a critical clinical need: timely and targeted antibiotic treatment for patients potentially facing death from sepsis.
