Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem. It’s expected that by 2050, superbug infections will kill more people than cancer. But what if we could cut diagnosis of an infection from days to minutes? Might that help drive down the overuse of antibiotic prescriptions and promote faster and more effective treatment?

That's exactly what Dr Neciah Dorh and his multi-disciplinary team of engineers, data scientists and microbiologists are trying. Their aim is to create a fast, affordable and easy-to-use diagnostic for healthcare practitioners to use. Their starting point: Urinary Tract Infections. UTI’s are the second highest cause of antibiotic prescription within primary care in the UK, with many elderly patients regularly experiencing ineffective antibiotic treatments that often lead to recurrent visits to the doctor or even hospitalisation.

Neciah's TEDx talk explores how fluorescence-based technology can identify and enumerate bacterial infection in less than 15 minutes.

Originally St Lucia, Neciah has spent the last 10 years in Bristol, UK and has become a proud member of its Health-tech community. After gaining his BEng and Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bristol, his investigations within novel fluorescent detection became the basis of his company, FluoretiQ limited.

His pioneering team is working at the interface of engineering, microbiology and chemistry to deliver the next generation of game-changing diagnostics.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx