An innovative software developed by the Asturian startup Pragmatech AI Solutions, known as iAST®, has proven to be highly effective in predicting the most suitable antibiotic for each patient, thanks to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. This advancement has been validated through the retrospective and controlled clinical trial EVIAST, conducted in a cohort of 325 patients by researchers from the HM Montepríncipe University Hospital in Madrid.
Bacterial infections, responsible for six million deaths annually according to the American Society for Microbiology, represent a huge threat to public health. Antibiotic resistance worsens this crisis, as recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this context, tools like iAST® are essential for improving treatment accuracy and reducing errors in antibiotic therapy.
The EVIAST clinical trial, carried out in 12 hospital centers of the HM Hospitales Madrid Group, confirms the accuracy of the iAST® software, which uses patient data such as sex, age, and type of hospital care to predict the effectiveness of antibiotics. The study results show that the first three antibiotic options recommended by the software had a success rate of over 90%, compared to 68.93% in conventional empirical treatments.
Pablo Valledor, founding partner of Pragmatech AI Solutions, highlights that iAST® “is a very user-friendly web tool” whose powerful calculation engine combines artificial intelligence with expert microbiological knowledge, facilitating data-driven medical decisions.
This technology allows for the detection of antibiotic resistances from the beginning of treatment, thus optimizing patient care and reducing healthcare costs. “The iAST® algorithm considers critical factors and can predict resistances,” says Javier Fernández Domínguez, another founding partner of Pragmatech AI Solutions. This is crucial during the first 48 hours of infection, a period where specific laboratory results are not available.
Dr. José Barberán, head of the Internal Medicine Department at HM Montepríncipe University Hospital, emphasizes that artificial intelligence is a promising tool in infectology. “AI can help overcome the challenges of modern Medicine, especially in the treatment of serious infections and in centers without infectious disease specialists,” he explains.
Pragmatech expects to obtain CE marking for iAST® in October, allowing for its commercialization throughout the European Union. This startup combines artificial intelligence with expert knowledge to develop innovative solutions in the healthcare sector, focusing particularly on clinical microbiology and antibiotic resistance.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
