The Science Play Corner

Presented by: Estelle Ben Salah Moulin

Mission Antibiotix is a virtual serious game designed to raise awareness on antimicrobial resistance among antibiotic prescribers. It has been deployed in acute-care hospitals in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, from November 2023. Designed along the lines of an escape game, it invites players to put themselves in the shoes of a hospital doctor working in an environment where highly resistant bacteria are spreading at an alarming rate in hospitals. By searching for clues in virtual patient rooms, carrying out a meticulous clinical examination and analysing paraclinical results, players are expected to make the most appropriate prescription decisions, with a particular focus on the indications of antibiotic treatment initiation. Each decision is validated by a virtual infectious disease consultant with the ultimate goal to find the telephone number of the central pharmacy to order the required precious antibiotics, all within the limited time of 20 minutes. This game targets primarily physicians but is open to anyone with an interest in antimicrobial resistance.

Presented by: Gilbert Greub

The Microbes that are dangerous to health are too often unknown tot he general public and to health workers, because they cause diseases that are rare or difficult to detect. In addition, there is regularly a lack of knowledge about how they are transmitted and what preventative measures can be taken.

This is why Prof. Greub had the idea of creating a first game, «Krobs» which included 20 microbes.

In view of the success, he then decided to create a second game «MyKrobs», which features more microbes (44 MyKrobs).

Presented by: Krisandra Allen

Pathogen Pursuit: A Hospital Whodunit is a classic mystery game, but instead of solving a crime, players race to solve an outbreak in a hospital! The game features different Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales and an intrepid outbreak investigation team. Players will learn about different bacterial species often associated with hospital-acquired infections as well as different carbapenemenases that are contributing to the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

Presented by Sarah Delliere & Maud Salmona

Germ Connect (design by Maud Salmona and Sarah Dellière) is a retheme version of the famous card game “Code Name” to study microbiology and infectious diseases at any level of expertise (3-level rules: medical student, clinical resident, experts). 25 micro-organisms (international denomination) are spread out on a table.

Players make associations with a few words between micro-organisms to uncover as many as possible in each turn, while avoiding guessing the micro-organisms of the opposing team, the "neutral" micro-organisms and the forbidden micro-organism, which causes the game to be lost outright.

Presented by: Lucia Saiz-Escobado

Our gut harbors millions of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. However, there's no need to panic! The majority of these microorganisms play a beneficial and vital role in human health. This complex microbial community is known as the gut microbiota, contributing significantly to essential processes such as food digestion and the development of the immune system.

In the educational game Disbiotik, your objective is to become the player with the healthiest gut microbiota. Gather as many commensal microorganisms as possible and strategically attack your opponents with negative effects, causing them to acquire annoying pathogenic microorganisms. Be mindful of your habits and diet. If you become infected, heal yourself with antibiotics or undergo a microbiota transplant to restore intestinal balance—the most diverse microbiota will be rewarded!

Presented by: Sylvain Meylan

Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Prompt recognition and management are critical to improve outcomes.

The Stanford School of Medicine launched worldwide in 2011 Septris, a mobile-accessible, free, case-based, online game. However, Sepsis-3 consensus definitions and updates of surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines have since been rolled out.

Septris2.0 has been reworked with 10 cases with 6 community-acquired and 2 nosocomial sepsis cases and 2 non-sepsis cases with more patient diversity. It accommodates both Sepsis-2 consensus definitions (still in use in the USA – American version) and Sepsis-3 consensus definitions (international version - available in English and French) with changes applying to scenarios and questions prompted participants.

Diagnostics and management have been reworked around the latest SSC guidelines with updates such as the introduction of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessement (SOFA) score appearing in the electronic health record and the suppression of early directed goal therapy. In the international version, a low- vs. high-antibiotics resistance setting was introduced to optimize antibiotic stewardship. Finally, to enhance usability and engagement, we introduced a leader dashboard, demonstration tutorial, several game speeds, end-game summary of feedback and, for international versions, included international laboratory units.

Presented by: Shunkichi Ikegaki

Antibiollets is a classical shooter game. Players select gun-like weapons that represent antibiotics and shoot the enemy microbes. Each enemy bacteria has its susceptibility pattern. A broader-spectrum weapon has a limited number of bullets, which acts as an incentive to choose narrow-spectrum agents to avoid running out of bullets. 

Through playing this app, medical students can experience choosing antibiotics and fighting against them, motivating them to learn the basics of clinical microbiology.