Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The development of a new method for the diagnostic testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis having unparalleled speed and simplicity is proposed. The technical approach is based on a novel implementation of impedance sensing to monitor cellular growth with unprecedented sensitivity and stability. This enables results to be obtained directly from sputum samples within a few hours with a simple, inexpensive, and easy to use device ideally suited for mass production. This method also avoids the need for grown cultures, thus reducing the time from sample collection to complete diagnosis by weeks compared to currently used methods. The new method is also applicable to other Category A, B, and C organisms. Feasibility of the proposed diagnostic tool will be demonstrated with antimicrobial drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG within a 12-month Phase I effort. A Phase II effort will be focused on the development of a prototype instrumentation and clinical testing of multi-drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis.