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world: a "coffee machine" to quickly diagnose TB


TB, or tuberculosis, is an infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also known as "Koch's bacteria" because it was isolated and described by Robert Koch in 1882. According to data from the WHO (World Health Organization), a third of the world population is infected.
mortality and morbidity statistics in 2004 showed 14.6 million active cases, 8.9 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths, mostly in developing countries. Many infections remain latent and asymptomatic, but about one in ten
disease becomes active, if untreated, kills more than half of the people.
In 1946, with the development of the antibiotic streptomycin, si cominciò a pensare che l'eradicazione della malattia fosse possibile, ma speranza che la malattia potesse essere definitivamente sconfitta è venuta meno con l'insorgenza di ceppi resistenti agli antibiotici negli anni ottanta.
Attualmente dati dell'OMS mostrano che il trattamento standard non è efficace nel 20 % circa dei casi, mentre il 2 % dei ceppi resistenti agli antibiotici standard è resistente anche ai farmaci di seconda linea.
Nei paesi in via di sviluppo una diagnosi precoce equivale spesso a salvare una vita. Ora una specie di "coffee machine" dà la possibilità di diagnosticare la tubercolosi in circa 100 minuti anziché in 30-90 giorni. Si tratta di un test molecolare inserito in un "piattaforma diagnostica" capable of supporting several types of tests on different diseases.
Diagnosis is achieved in one hour and 45 minutes, starting from the sputum of the patient, and is completely automotizzata. Simply insert a cartridge pre-packaged with a saliva sample of the patient in the door of the machine. The operator only needs to know how to turn on the computer and the test can also be made for one case.
The ease of diagnosis is a big advantage because the machine can also be used in centers without specialized technicians, for example, just in developing countries.
In the future, the platform can also be used for other texts, such as malaria and HIV. The cost of the machine is $ 17,000, while each cartridge, and in the West now costs € 50, will cost for developing countries with low or medium $ 16.86, with plans to reach $ 10 within three years, according to WHO.
The machine is the result of a public-private collaborazone see also Italy among the leaders. In fact it is the product of a U.S. company (Genexpert), the department "Stop TB" WHO, directed by Italian Mario Raviglione, and "find", the "Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics, chaired by the Italian Giorgio Roscigno .