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Infection inspection: using the power of citizen science for image-based prediction of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli treated with ciprofloxacin

Abstract:
Antibiotic resistance is an urgent global health challenge, necessitating rapid diagnostic tools to combat its threat. This study uses citizen science and image feature analysis to profile the cellular features associated with antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli. Between February and April 2023, we conducted the Infection Inspection project, in which 5273 volunteers made 1,045,199 classifications of single-cell images from five E. coli strains, labelling them as antibiotic-sensitive or antibiotic-resistant based on their response to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. User accuracy in image classification reached 66.8 ± 0.1%, lower than our deep learning model's performance at 75.3 ± 0.4%, but both users and the model were more accurate when classifying cells treated at a concentration greater than the strain's own minimum inhibitory concentration. We used the users' classifications to elucidate which visual features influence classification decisions, most importantly the degree of DNA compaction and heterogeneity. We paired our classification data with an image feature analysis which showed that most of the incorrect classifications happened when cellular features varied from the expected response. This understanding informs ongoing efforts to enhance the robustness of our diagnostic methodology. Infection Inspection is another demonstration of the potential for public participation in research, specifically increasing public awareness of antibiotic resistance.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/s41598-024-69341-3

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Research group:
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Research group:
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Research group:
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Research group:
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery
Role:
Author


More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/029chgv08
Grant:
110164/Z/15/Z
More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/0187kwz08
Grant:
NIHR200915
More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/00cwqg982
Grant:
BB/N018656/1
BB/S008896/1


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Scientific Reports More from this journal
Volume:
14
Issue:
1
Article number:
19543
Place of publication:
England
Publication date:
2024-08-22
Acceptance date:
2024-08-02
DOI:
EISSN:
2045-2322
ISSN:
2045-2322
Pmid:
39174600


Language:
English
Pubs id:
2023103
Local pid:
pubs:2023103
Deposit date:
2024-09-10

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