Researchers at the University of Calgary are helping antibiotics work smarter, not harder, by giving physicians new tools to diagnose infections.

Ian Lewis, assistant professor at the U of C and project lead of precision infection management (PIM), says not much about antibiotics has changed since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.

But thanks to an $11-million grant, PIM will use new diagnostic tools — including a smartphone app and a new database called ResistanceDB — to slow dangerous bacteria's antibiotic resistance by helping clinicians identify pathogens and prescribe the correct treatments.