Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health threat, in part due to the misuse and overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Most antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) techniques are slow and culture-based, taking days to produce results, which delays treatment and can put patients at risk. Dipstick-type tests and manual microscopy are faster, but less reliable. To combat the problem, rapid pathogen identification and AST techniques are needed to provide timely diagnosis of resistant infections and delivery of accurate antibiotic treatment in primary health-care settings, as well as in hospitals and point-of-care (POC) settings.
Researchers at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University have developed an innovative large-volume scattering imaging (LVSi) technique designed to rapidly detect and analyze bacterial pathogens in urine samples without the need for time-consuming culture-based methods. By illuminating a large volume of patient urine and capturing scattered light from individual bacterial cells, LVSi provides high-resolution imaging and tracking of bacteria at low concentrations. Advanced software algorithms extract phenotypic features and monitor bacterial growth and antibiotic responses, enabling pathogen identification and determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in 30 to 120 minutes. The system supports high-throughput testing using standard 96-well microplates, offering a low-cost, point-of-care solution for timely and accurate urinary tract infection diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. This technology enables precise antibiotic prescriptions and accurate treatment of the patient on the same day of visit for UTI and provides a core technology for addressing a broader range of bacterial infections.
This LVSi technique enables the direct detection of individual bacterial cells in clinical samples without culturing or pathogen isolation, for fast detection of pathogens and determination of antimicrobial susceptibility.
Potential Applications
- Point-of-care urinary tract infection diagnosis in outpatient and clinical settings
- Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing for personalized antibiotic therapy
- Screening and management of infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria such as CRE and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae
- High-throughput bacterial infection testing in hospitals and diagnostic laboratories
- Broader application for rapid detection of other bacterial infections beyond UTIs
Benefits and Advantages
- Rapid detection and antibiotic susceptibility testing within 3 hours
- Culture-free method requiring no sample enrichment
- High sensitivity imaging of single bacterial cells at low concentrations (as low as 10³ cells/mL)
- High-throughput capability using standard 96-well microplates
- Low-cost and scalable design suitable for point-of-care use
- Nanometer precision tracking of bacterial morphology and growth
- Multi-phenotypic feature extraction for accurate pathogen identification
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