Rapid Diagnostic Testing of Urinary Tract Infections

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The development of a new rapid diagnostic method for testing the antibiotic susceptibility of urinary tract infections is proposed. The technical approach is based on a novel implementation of impedance sensing to monitor cellular growth with exceptional sensitivity and stability avoiding the need for grown cultures to obtain results. Susceptibility results can be obtained directly from urinary specimens at the point of care within two hours reducing the time from sample collection to availability by days enabling targeted therapy, improved patient outcomes, and the reduced spread and generation of resistant organisms. The method can be realized with a disposable device that is simple, cost effective, and ideal for mass production. Feasibility of the proposed diagnostic tool will be demonstrated with both drug susceptible and resistant strains of Escherichia coli. A follow-on effort will focus on the development of prototype instrumentation and testing of other clinically relevant multi-drug resistant organisms.