How AI Could Revolutionise The Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

A project funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) hopes to address these issues with the help of AI. Abtrace, a platform founded by Dr. Umar Naeem Ahmad, Dr. Cristina Correia, and Helder Soares, has designed an algorithm to process a patient’s healthcare notes and recommend the type and dosage of antimicrobial to be administered. By guiding clinicians to making more accurate and beneficial prescriptions for each individual patient, Abtrace hopes to drastically reduce the risk of AMR development.

AI has already been used in healthcare to develop new antibiotics, but Abtrace’s new approach hopes to have a more impactful influence on the fight against AMR. Their algorithm uses a process known as natural language processing to compare patient notes to millions of data points on dosages and success rates in order to find or extrapolate a solution. The application of this technology could be vital to tackling AMR, as Abtrace estimates that 30% of all antibiotic prescriptions are inappropriate.