Specialists from St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU) have created the Antimicro computer program for processing metagenomic sequencing data. The development is designed to help doctors diagnose infectious diseases.
The program analyzes the genetic material of microorganisms in a patient's biological samples, determining the types of bacteria, their resistance to antibiotics, and pathogenicity. Antimicro works in Russian and includes detailed instructions, which simplifies its use in clinical practice. A unique feature of the software is that it takes into account the peculiarities of the microbiome of Russian residents, which increases the accuracy of the analysis.
Currently, similar tools are mainly available in private laboratories and large state centers. According to the developers, Antimicro is not inferior to foreign counterparts in speed, but it is cheaper and more convenient. The program also includes additional modules, such as a directory of microorganisms and a therapy selection function.
All data in the system is processed in a "closed loop", which guarantees their protection and confidentiality. Currently, scientists are working on obtaining a certificate of conformity from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, which in the future may make the analysis more accessible to patients under the compulsory medical insurance policy. Potentially, the program can be used not only in medicine, but also in pharmacology, agriculture, and the food industry.