In this episode of the Dementia Researcher podcast, host Adam Smith chats with with Professor Paul Freemont and researcher Tom Adam from the UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial College London to discuss the critical issue of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in individuals living with dementia.

The conversation highlights the complexities of diagnosing UTIs in people living with dementia, where communication barriers and atypical presentations often lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary hospitalisations. The guests emphasise the urgent need for improved detection methods, as UTIs can exacerbate cognitive decline and lead to severe health complications. They talk about their work to develop and introduce an innovative novel point-of-care diagnostic device designed specifically for dementia patients, which aims to facilitate early detection of UTIs in a home and care home setting, thereby reducing the reliance on traditional symptom reporting and hospital visits.

Key takeaways:

🔹UTIs are a major cause of hospital admission and sudden decline in people living with dementia.

🔹Diagnosing UTIs is harder in dementia because symptoms are often not recognised or communicated.

🔹Current testing methods can be slow and sometimes lead to overuse of antibiotics.

🔹New home based rapid testing technology aims to detect infections earlier and closer to where care happens.

🔹Earlier detection could reduce hospital stays and improve quality of life.

🔹Future monitoring of urine biomarkers could help predict infections before symptoms appear.

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A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to UTIs in Dementia

04:15 The Seriousness of UTIs in Dementia

18:31 Innovative Approaches to UTI Detection

22:00 Engineering a Diagnostic Device for Home Use

27:04 Innovative UTI Detection Technology

29:41 The Vision for Home Testing

31:40 Personal Motivations Behind the Research

34:40 Understanding the Urinary Microbiome

37:53 Designing the UTI Detection Device

44:20 Testing in Clinical Environments

50:57 Barriers to Market Entry

54:03 Community Awareness and Support

58:46 Outro