Translational platform for nanosensor-based medical diagnostics (TechPat nano)

The project aims to make the latest biotechnologies and nanotechnologies from Baden-Württemberg available to patients and to prepare applications for future-based personalized medical diagnostics.

Digitization in medicine is also changing the patient-doctor relationship. Video consultations will increasingly replace doctor's visits, and time-critical or acompanying treatment analyses must then be executable as patient self-tests. Up-to-date patient data will enable the telemedicine specialist to adapt the therapy directly to the patient's personal needs. The aim is to reduce side effects, increase survival rates and lower treatment costs. The project combines technological advances in molecular medicine, nanotechnology and digital technology to prepare the business sector in Baden-Württemberg for next-generation diagnostics. An accompanying treatment in the form of a self-test for kidney transplant patients and a patient self-test to detect antibiotic-resistant pathogens and inflammation serve as demonstrators for future applications in telemedicine or by the nursing staff.

The project is based on two pillars:

1) Translational accompanying research

Its goal is to bring new technologies from Baden-Württemberg to patients in a targeted and timely manner. To this end, it is necessary a) to evaluate the future diagnostic needs of patients, especially against the backdrop of increasing digitization in medicine, and b) to intensively familiarize the top researchers and young researchers active in Baden-Württemberg in the field of bio-nanotechnology with these future medical needs and the latest international state of the art in this regard. In this way, the available cutting-edge technologies are to be transferred into internationally competitive medical products in an application-specific manner and together with the business sector. The accompanying research is carried out with the involvement of patients, clinics, companies and the networks BIOPRO, BioLAGO, microTEC Südwest and the competence network Digital Medicine Baden-Württemberg.

2) Technological system development

Innovative bio- and nanotechnologies from Baden-Württemberg will be integrated into a mobile diagnostic platform in the project to prepare the next generation of patient-oriented diagnostics. The demonstration is based on two highly relevant applications: a) an accompanying treatment through a non-invasive monitoring test for kidney transplant patients based on the marker kynurenine, and b) a mobile screening test for the determination of inflammation markers from saliva samples, as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The test should be applicable as a self-test or by staff in care facilities.