Advances in infection diagnostics: With its DISQVER diagnosis method, Noscendo offers the possibility of determining infectious agents during a stay in hospital faster and more accurately than has thus far been possible with traditional methods. This has clear potential to benefit the patient pathway. Health insurance companies also see possible savings here, for example when expensive follow-up treatments such as dialysis can be avoided.
As the DISQVER diagnosis method has been adopted by an increasing number of university and regional maximum care hospitals in Germany since its licensing in 2019, its acceptance with health insurance companies has also grown. “More precise digital diagnosis improves the basis of decision-making for doctors. This can lead to optimised treatment for patients generally, as well as to lower treatment costs for health insurance companies1,” explains Florian Brandt, Health Innovation Manager at IKK Südwest.
With the DISQVER method, pathogens can often be determined faster and more accurately than with standard methods such as blood culture2. Thanks to the precision of the diagnosis and the time gained, medical care can then be optimised, so that patients potentially recover faster and suffer from fewer secondary complications. “As a health insurance company, this success shows us how important it is to firmly integrate ground-breaking digital methods into healthcare and how patients can benefit from this,” says Brandt.
Brandt also sees high potential savings for cost bearers. “According to a study from Jena University Hospital, across Germany more than 320 000 people per year suffer from sepsis, also known as blood poisoning4. These patients are at increased risk of kidney damage, which can lead to high secondary costs. If the risk of kidney failure is lowered to a normal value by rapid diagnosis, an average of around €4 700 in costs per sepsis case could be saved,” explains Brandt. This is shown by a model calculation which appeared in March 2022 in the specialist magazine “Welt der Krankenversicherung”1.
Close cooperation with health insurance companies and leading maximum care hospitals
“We founded Noscendo GmbH in 2016, in order to improve diagnostics on the basis of next-generation sequencing and our bioinformatic evaluation method, above all for bloodstream-associated infections. We are delighted that DISQVER has found such good resonance both in leading clinics and in innovative health insurance companies,” adds Dr Peter Haug, co-founder and member of the strategy board of Noscendo GmbH. “We would love to extend this cooperation to work with other health insurance companies and service providers, and offer our support with this,” says Haug.
Digital method delivers results in less than 24 hours
But how does digital diagnosis work? After a standard blood draw, a modern method of DNA sequencing is used, so-called “next-generation sequencing” (NGS). After the results of this sequencing have been uploaded to the DISQVER platform, algorithms screen out the human DNA. The remaining DNA of bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi and parasites is compared with a comprehensive genome database. This allows the type and quantity of pathogens to be precisely determined within 24 hours. The results of the analysis in digital form are delivered to the attending physician in the hospital.
Additional sources and information:
1 Brandt, Haug, Michel, Ruprecht, Welt der Krankenversicherung 3/2022, S. 54-57
https://noscendo.com/news/welt-der-krankenversicherung-disqver-praezisionsmedizin-in-der-infektionsdiagnostik
2 Grumaz et al. CCM, 2019 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6485303/
3 Grumaz et al. Genome Medicine, 2016 https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-016-0326-8
4 Fleischmann-Struzek, C., Mikolajetz, A., Schwarzkopf, D. et al. Intensive Care Med, 2018
5 https://noscendo.com/6 www.digisep.de
About Noscendo
Noscendo GmbH is the world’s leading provider of software-based pathogen identification. Around 20 employees in Duisburg and Reutlingen aim to revolutionise infection diagnostics and thereby save patients’ lives.
With standard diagnostics using blood cultures, clinical or microbiological laboratories usually need between two days and several weeks to determine a limited number of pathogens. The DISQVER analysis platform, licensed in 2019, identifies more than 16 000 microbes within 24 hours, including 1 500 characterised germs (bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi and parasites). To achieve this, the cell-free DNA in the patient’s blood is examined using next-generation sequencing, a new, particularly rapid method of DNA analysis. Noscendo’s bioinformatic algorithms compare this information with a clinical genome database. Within 24 hours, a report is provided on all germs detectable in the sample. With this time-saving and precise pathogen identification, serious infections can be treated in a targeted manner, for example in intensive care units or in the case of blood disorders such as leukaemia. This reduces the use of broadband antibiotics, which contribute to the development of resistant germs and thereby lead to serious courses of disease and increased mortality.
Many well-known university clinics and large regional clinics as well as clinic groups are already using DISQVER. The Noscendo diagnosis company is also cooperating with health insurance companies including TK and IKK Südwest within selective contracts, as well as with AOK Rheinland/Hamburg, BARMER and TK within a project of the innovation fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).
Noscendo was named a Health-i Pioneer 2020 by the Handelsblatt and the Techniker Krankenkasse. This distinction is awarded to particularly innovative ideas in healthcare.
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