UTIs are a common occurrence in hospitalized patients with catheters, but they’re typically detected too late and can lead to sepsis. Currently, a diagnostic test can take hours to provide results. Researchers from Ireland and Germany have now created a “Lab-on-a-Disc” device that can separate and detect bacteria in tiny samples of urine. The device is a centrifuge that spins a few microliters of a urine sample. On the periphery of the spinning disk are microchannels leading to tiny vessels called “V-cup capture units” that collect individual bacteria. A Raman spectroscopy probe then uses light to analyze the bacteria.
In their studies, the team was able to spot E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria that are often associated with UTIs in just over an hour using small patient samples. This may allow clinicians to quickly screen patients for sepsis and begin antibiotic treatment a full day earlier than is now typically possible.
Study in Biomicrofluidics: Rapid, culture-independent, optical diagnostics of centrifugally captured bacteria from urine samples…
Source: American Institute of Physics…
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