Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to patient care. Modern molecular methods such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) have the potential to identify the type of resistance present to help guide treatment plans. However, in order for these methods to be widely implemented more robust approaches are required.

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) covers a range of blood vessel and heart disorders. For many CVD-subtypes the changes of blood supply to the heart muscle plays a significant role, which would benefit from quantitative measurements. However, the ‘gold standard’ technique used to diagnose these conditions lacks metrological traceability and variations in interpreting results can lead to false diagnoses endangering patients.

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Three in every 1000 babies are born with hearing impairment, which hampers development of language skills. Rapid identification is key for early intervention, so many national health authorities have hearing testing programs for babies. However the headphones used for hearing tests are set up using ear simulators designed for larger adult ears. Tailoring these to smaller ear sizes will improve the accuracy of assessments of hearing loss in young children.

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Extracellular vesicles are small cell-derived particles present in all body fluids. They are fundamental to biological processes and have been recently shown to be involved in the spread of cancer around the body. The detection and counting of extracellular vesicles gives an opportunity to develop new diagnostic tools and treatments for many diseases. However, these rely on first producing high quality blood samples for analysis using robust, simple and standardised approaches.

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New research into extracellular vesicles, small particles in the blood, is leading to exciting new possibilities for detecting and treating life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart problems. Extracellular vesicles can indicate when a patient has a disease, and may play a role in how it spreads. Developing reliable extracellular vesicles measurement methods could lead to fast, routine diagnosis techniques and new treatments, improving quality of life and reducing healthcare costs.

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Biomarkers are small molecules found in the bloodstream, which can be directly related to diseases such as cancer, HIV and Hepatitis. At the heart of many new diagnostic tools, biomarkers enable early detection of disease making successful treatment more likely. However, their small size and often low numbers can hamper detection without expensive specialist equipment. Innovation in measurement cell design is needed for simple and low-cost biomarker detection in complex samples.

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Anaemia is a common health condition that affects around 2 billion people worldwide. Timely treatment effectively restores health and can raise national productivity levels by as much as 20 %, according to the World Health Organisation. However, the current reference diagnostic test uses potassium cyanide to measure haemoglobin levels in blood, and the difficulties in procuring and disposing of this toxic compound are driving demand for alternative test methods.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an effective way to diagnose serious brain conditions and also has potential use in diagnosing degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Using more powerful MRI magnetic fields will improve disease diagnosis, but may also create risks for patients. Before new powerful MRI machines can enter routine clinical use, hospitals and manufacturers must have improved measurement methods and standards to be able to demonstrate patient safety.

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With 30 million scans per year in Europe, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an important medical imaging technique that is increasingly being used during surgical procedures. However, staff tending patients also experience effects from the strong MRI magnetic fields and safe exposure limits are set by EU Directives. Highly accurate magnetic field measurements and ways to relate them to exposure are needed to ensure staff and patients remain safe at all times.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can detect cancers, as well as joint and spinal injuries. However there are restrictions on MRI scanning for patients with metal implants as the implants can move or generate heat due to the MRI’s strong magnetic field interacting with the metal. A better understanding of MRI heating effects will contribute to making this imaging technique as safe as possible.

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Radiotherapy is a powerful tool in modern cancer treatment – around 40 % of people who survive cancer do so because of radiotherapy. MRI-guided radiotherapy can further improve the success of radiotherapy by offering more targeted treatment through real-time imaging. However, before this new technique can be widely adopted in clinics, accurate dosimetry needs to be established to ensure patients are consistently treated with safe and effective doses of radiation.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria which are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Doctors in the developing world have to frequently rely on diagnostic techniques that are insensitive or slow leading to the over prescription of antibiotics. By providing access to faster diagnostic methods, doctors will be able to target treatment effectively slowing the development of drug resistant TB bacteria.

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