Diagnostic tool for assessment and tracking of microbial load in bloodstream infections

PROJECT SUMMARY Leading to over 270,000 deaths in the US annually, septicemia is the systemic inflammatory response to a bloodstream infection (BSI). Early diagnosis and treatment of BSIs have demonstrated improved patient outcomes and reduced hospitalization time. However, currently accepted diagnostic approaches require a blood culturing step, which is not only slow, but also demonstrates reduced sensitivity in the presence of antimicrobial treatment. Current techniques are therefore considered unreliable for monitoring effectiveness of treatment once begun. There is a significant need for new diagnostic approaches for BSIs that are culture-free and provide microbiological information throughout the course of care. To address this unmet need, HelixBind will leverage the capabilities of its proprietary direct-from-specimen (i.e., culture-free) platform, RaPID (Resistance and Pathogen IDentification) to assess the microbial load of an infection in response to an antimicrobial intervention. RaPID/BSI, the first test for this system, detects and identifies BSIs directly from patient whole-blood within 3 hours. Incorporating a broad test menu with single CFUs/ml sensitivity, the test is not confounded by polymicrobial infections nor antimicrobial treatment. Across multiple clinical studies, the assay has demonstrated >95% sensitivity and >99.8% per assay specificity. RaPID/BSI was designated as a Breakthrough Device by the FDA. As a result of this program, the capability to accurately assess microbial load will be added RaPID/BSI. With this capability in place, initial test results will provide clinicians with pathogen identification along with a measure of load; a marker for infection severity. Combined, this information will assist clinicians in source control and selecting the most appropriate antimicrobial intervention. Follow-up measurements will then allow the clinician to gauge for microbial clearance, a requisite for patient recovery. Beyond the immediate, patient-specific impact, this program will directly support improved antimicrobial stewardship as required to combat the rise of antimicrobial resistance pathogens. Our Specific Aims, each with quantifiable deliverables, are designed to complete all technical development, systems verification, stress testing, and clinical validation in collaboration with our clinical partners. The focus of this study will be to validate the capability of our innovative approach, setting the stage for further work aimed at optimizing its implementation in the clinical setting. In achieving our Specific Aims, we will have developed and demonstrated, a revolutionary approach towards identifying, characterizing, monitoring, and treating invasive infections of the bloodstream.