NANOLYME

Towards a new diagnosis of Lyme disease through nanotechnology, atomic spectrometry and artificial intelligence. Lyme disease is endemic in the POCTEFA regions and its increase is due, among other factors, to climate change that makes the vectors that transmit it active for longer periods of time.

Acronym: NanoLyme

Principal Investigators of the project: Martín Resano Ezcaray y Eduardo Bolea Fernández

Contacts: mresano@unizar.es y ebolea@unizar.es 

Total cost: 381.087,50€

FEDER: 247.706€

Lyme disease is an emerging disease of increasing clinical concern across Europe. It is considered endemic in POCTEFA regions and its increase is due, among other factors, to climate change that makes the vectors that transmit it active for longer, as stated in the report "Climate Change in the Pyrenees: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation", prepared by the OPCC and the CTP. The European Parliament Resolution on this disease, 2018/2774 (RSP), analyses the situation in Europe, noting that "more reliable early diagnosis of Lyme disease will significantly reduce the number of cases of late-stage Lyme disease, Our project takes up this call by capitalising on previous experience gained in diagnosing another disease (Wilson's) in the previous DBS project and incorporating the competent partner in Lyme in the POCTEFA area (CH Lannemezan). The project aims to develop a new diagnostic method for Lyme disease based on a novel and unique approach, which instead of trying to detect the antibodies generated by the patient (sometimes virtually non-existent), will detect the inoculated disease-causing bacteria themselves. This method can only be developed based on the cross-border cooperation of the partners involved, and their complementary expertise in the use of nanotechnology as an enabling tool, ICP-MS and artificial intelligence applied to clinical diagnostics. The result will be a robust Lyme diagnostic method that will be directly transferred to major hospitals in the POCTEFA regions involved for immediate application at the end of the project.

The NanoLyme project has been co-financed 65% by the European Union through the Interreg VI-A Spain-France-Andorra Programme (POCTEFA 2021-2027). The objective of POCTEFA is to strengthen the economic and social integration of the Spain-France-Andorra border area.