DRAIGON holds second Annual Meeting in Tirana, Albania
- Aug 13
- 2 min read
DRAIGON project partners came together on 7th-8th May 2026 for two full days of presentations and scientific discussions centred around progress made over the past year, and strategic alignment of continued work. The meeting was hosted by the Albanian DRAIGON consortium partner, Spitali Universitar Shefqet Ndroqi.
More than 30 participants joined the meeting in-person and virtually, resulting in renewed enthusiasm towards the shared project goal of improving diagnostics and surveillance by AI powered genomics-based technology thus also addressing containment of AMR.
To begin, a keynote address titled Antimicrobial Resistance in Albania: Bridging Clinical Reality and National Policy was given by Dr. Entela Ramosaçaj, of University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa," Tirana. University Hospital Centre of Tirana “Mother Theresa,” giving partners insight into the importance of considering the realities of clinical practice when determining national healthcare policy. The rest of day one focused on technological and clinical sessions, sharing partners’ progress and insights garnered across the diagnostic pipeline.
Day two was focused on access, adoption, coordination, and communication. As project outcomes progress in maturity, the path towards regulatory acceptance and end-user adoption continues to be refined. Sessions were held discussing the results of a health technology assessment (HTA), the model for which includes: a living systematic literature review and meta-analysis, development of a health-economic model, a study on implementation from a hospital perspective, and potential barriers and facilitators. Avenues for continued funding, maximising visibility, and overcoming hurdles such as resistance to change and training bottlenecks were also discussed.
Highlights of the project’s progress include:
Camtech presented a working benchtop prototype of DRAIGONprep, the project's automated sample-preparation device, which integrates DNA extraction and nanopore library preparation into a single digital-microfluidics workflow.
Health-Ecore's living systematic review has now synthesised 62 studies covering some 17,000 patients, hosted in an interactive application that updates as new evidence emerges.
The hospital in Albania completed infrastructure setup and staff training, with a one-year pilot planned.
In all, the 2nd Annual Meeting was a success, imparting attendees with a renewed vigour to capitalise on the progress made so far and continue the momentum of DRAIGON going forward.
