Doctors treating HIV cases may soon have a new weapon in their arsenal to fight anti-retroviral resistance.

Imogen Wright, 30, a South African with a PhD in computational biology, has developed Exatype, a software that will help doctors determine, in minutes, what drugs an HIV-positive patient may be resistant to.

Wright is one of 10 nominees vying for a share of a R150000 innovation prize to be awarded through a Zürich-based NGO, The African Innovation Foundation. Four of the nominees are South Africans.

The software, which a research group at the University of the Western Cape took about three-and-a-half-years to develop, searches through the information gleaned when viral DNA is sequenced to find specific genetic mutations that show which drugs it will not respond to.

This will assist doctors in quickly determining whether a patient is resistant to the drugs or is not taking them correctly.

"Patients don't always want to admit to not taking medication as the healthworker is seen as an authority figure," said Wright.

It currently costs up to R6000 to sequence HIV DNA for drug resistance commercially. But costs could drop to as low as R500 as new equipment comes out.

Wright's software could also be used to determine TB drug resistance to fight superbugs in hospitals.

Another nominee is CEO of Cape Ray Medical, Kit Vaughan, who developed a machine that combines an ultrasound and a mammogram.

Vaughan's machine overcomes the need for two separate tests to help diagnose breast cancer in women who have dense breast tissue. About 40% of women have dense breast tissue at some time in their lives, which makes it hard for mammograms to pick up tumours, forcing women to undergo an ultrasound at additional cost.

The machine costs between R4-million and R5-million to make, and has been patented in Britian and US. It is currently undergoing safety tests there. Two trials in South Africa showed it worked better than using only mammograms.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Botswana on June 23.