Israel Develops Important Medical Test

MeMed cofounders Eran Eden, left, and Kfir Oved.
Photo by Jonathan Bloom

New Diagnostic Test Distinguishes Bacterial from Viral Infections
- Abigail Klein Leichman 

ImmunoXpert, developed by Israeli startup MeMed, is now used by hospitals in the EU, Switzerland and Israel to determine rapidly whether an infection is bacterial or viral.
 
Because they are usually unable to determine the cause of an infection, many physicians prescribe antibiotics to be on the safe side.
 
Experts believe that up to 50% of antibiotic drug regimens are unnecessary or inappropriate. And antibiotic overuse is a major trigger for drug-resistant strains estimated to kill 50,000 people each year in Europe and the U.S.
  
ImmunoXpert interprets chemical signals from the body's own immune system to distinguish with over 90% accuracy between bacterial and viral infections.
  
Instead of trying to access and isolate the pathogen, ImmunoXpert's sophisticated biosensors and algorithms decode the immune system's distinct responses to bacterial and viral infections.
(Israel21c)
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