Early detection of bacteria causing infections is vital in determining appropriate antibiotics and hence a positive outcome for the patient. However, a microbiological culturing procedure can still take days before a result is made available to the physician. New methods are needed to achieve a faster identification of a pathogen to facilitate faster diagnosis and subsequent therapy.
Background
Solution
During growth, bacteria emit a variety of volatile compounds as a result of their metabolism. Each bacterial species produces a group of compounds unique to its species or even bacterial strain. By measuring volatile compounds above the culture, species identification can rapidly be achieved. Owing to their high sensitivity, V&F ion molecule mass spectrometers can detect even the smallest changes in concentration, helping to identify the pathogen very quickly.
Advantages
The V&Fmass spectrometer instrument is compatible with commercially available autosampler systems and can be easily adapted to measure a wide range of compounds in the gas space above the bacterial cultures. The need to have continuous staff presence is reduced by the continuous measurement capability. Integrated communication capabilities allow results to be viewed remotely, enabling infection-specific antibiotic therapy to be initiated in a timely manner.
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