Ubiquitous colonizer of human skin Staphylococcus epidermidis causes serious nosocomial infections with indwelling devices and surgical procedures like a hip replacement. Now, scientists have found a way to predict the presence of the bacteria with the help of machine learning.
It has not been known whether all members of the S. epidermidis population colonizing the skin asymptomatically are capable of causing such infections, or if some of them have a heightened tendency to do so when they enter either the bloodstream or a deep tissue.
Artificial intelligence in Healthcare
Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is the discipline using data intensive computer based solutions to improve patient care and outcome.
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‘Artificial Intelligence devices help identify high-risk bacterial infections proactively before a surgical procedure.’
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FCAI scientists Johan Pensar and Jukka Corander from the Aalto-University and the University of Helsinki, joined a team of microbiologists and geneticists to unravel this mystery. By combining large-scale population genomics and in vitro measurements of immunologically relevant features of these bacteria, they were able to use machine learning to successfully predict the risk of developing a serious, and possibly life-threatening infection from the genomic features of a bacterial isolate.
This opens the door for future technology where high-risk genotypes are identified proactively when a person is to undergo a surgical procedure, which has high potential to reduce the burden of nosocomial infections caused by S. epidermidis.
Source: Eurekalert
Source: Eurekalert
Hospital Acquired Infections
Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are acquired by patients and health personnel alike in a hospital setting. HAI can be life-threatening and need to be promptly diagnosed and treated. Major causes are bacteria, with fungi and viruses playing a lesser role.
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 Birth Defects - InfectionsBirth defects are abnormalities, which occur before the birth of the baby and can be caused due to genetic, environmental and other unknown reasons. | Advertisement
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Opportunistic Infections
Opportunistic infections are microbial infections that can cause disease in persons with a weak immune system, but usually do not cause disease in healthy people.
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