"
Team:Calgary
From 2014.igem.org
B.s. DETECTOR
We are developing a novel, genome-based, point-of-care synthetic biological device to simultaneously diagnose multiple infectious diseases that are prevalent worldwide.
MISDIAGNOSIS OF INFECTIOUS DESEASES
Infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, meningitis, pneumonia and visceral leishmaniasis have similar clinical manifestations as malaria, thus are often misdiagnosed in resource-poor developing countries lacking suitable medical diagnostic facilities. Failure to properly identify such diseases prevents medical professionals from administering appropriate treatments in a timely manner, which results in economic costs and human suffering. In order to address this issue, the iGEM 2014 team is developing a novel, genome-based, rapid point-of-care synthetic biological device to simultaneously diagnose multiple infectious diseases.
CASE STUDY
Prevalent infectious diseases such as meningitis, dengue and typhoid fever are symptomatically similar to malaria, and are thus often misdiagnosed in developing countries which LACK THE RESOURCES to maintain suitable healthcare infrastructures.
Misdiagnosis prevents the appropriate treatments from being administered in a timely manner, which results in unnecessary HUMAN SUFFERING and a significant financial burden on the healthcare system.
OUR DEVICE, OUR IDEA
iGEM Calgary 2014 team is using synthetic biology to develop a NOVEL, GENOME-BASED, RAPID POINT-OF-CARE device to simultaneously diagnose multiple infectious diseases.
COMPONENTS OF OUR SYSTEM
Prevalent infectious diseases such as meningitis, dengue and typhoid fever are symptomatically similar to malaria, and are thus often misdiagnosed in developing countries which lack the resources to maintain suitable healthcare infrastructures (Murray, Quam, & Wilder-Smith, 2013). Failure to accurately diagnose such diseases is of particular concern.
