The objective of INNOVA4TB is to enhance and strengthen the collaborative research among sectors and to form a network aimed to perform high-quality and translational research in the field of diagnosis and management of tuberculosis (TB). The consortium is constituted by 12 institutions from 8 countries that combine complementary and synergic expertise: clinical management (hospitals), basic science and new technologies (academic institutions), and industrial development and entrepreneurship culture (SMEs). The exchanges between the institutions allow the participants to progress in their career perspectives. TB is one of the major infectious diseases worldwide, and the emergence and spread of drug resistant cases is a public health threat. However, the conventional methods used for diagnosis and drug-susceptibility testing are not enough for controlling the disease. In addition, all TB patients, independently of their age, gender, severity of the disease and type of responsible strain, follow the same treatment duration (up to 20 months in drug resistant cases), which often leads to high frequency of adverse events, suboptimal adherence to treatment, and poor outcome. A transition from programmatic to personalized management of TB is needed. Our proposal will develop innovative technologies and approaches in order to improve the individual risk assessment for TB development, to rapidly diagnose active TB, to detect the drug susceptibility of the strain, to design tailor-made therapies, and to use biomarkers to guide and individualize the duration of antimicrobial therapy. This is of great importance for improving the quality of life of patients and ensuring treatment success, as well as for economic reasons for the healthcare system.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the workhorse of modern molecular structural analysis with countless scientific applications, from materials science to drug discovery. Nevertheless, even the most modern NMR spectrometers still employ the same principles as 80 years ago, induction coils and high magnetic fields, making them bulky, expensive, and inaccessible to many potential users. However, a novel type of NMR sensor emerged recently from solid-state spin quantum systems: the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, which has demonstrated unparalleled sensitivities in detecting NMR signals. In this proposal, we aim to significantly enhance the sensitivity of modern benchtop NMR spectrometers by several orders of magnitude. We will achieve this improvement by combining the NMR technology field with cutting-edge quantum sensing, employing improved NV-diamond materials, advanced microwave antennas, novel pulse sequences, and quantum control protocols. The goal is to achieve complete control and protection from the environmental noise of the NV-spin state, incorporating quantum memories and logical operations to reach radiofrequency sensitivities well beyond those of classical NMR sensors. The quantum-enhanced benchtop NMR spectrometer will be applied and validated in an analytical chemistry lab environment to demonstrate record sensitivities in molecular analysis enabled by quantum technology, with potential applications in quality control, environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, online monitoring of chemical reactors, and materials discovery.