The identification of bacterial pathogens from culture is critical to the proper administration of antibiotics and patient treatment. Many of the tests currently used in the clinical microbiology laboratory for bacterial identification today can be highly sensitive and specific; however, they have the additional burdens of complexity, cost, and the need for specialized reagents. We present an innovative, reagent-free method for the identification of pathogens from culture. A clinical study has been initiated to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of this approach. Multiwavelength transmission spectra were generated from a set of clinical isolates including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Spectra of an initial training set of these target organisms were used to create identification models representing the spectral variability of each species using multivariate statistical techniques. Next, the spectra of the blinded isolates of targeted species were identified using the model achieving >94% sensitivity and >98% specificity, with 100% accuracy for P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. The results from this on-going clinical study indicate this approach is a powerful and exciting technique for identification of pathogens. The menu of models is being expanded to include other bacterial genera and species of clinical significance.
Accurate characterization of the optical properties of erythrocytes is essential for the applications in optical biomedicine,
in particular, for diagnosis of blood related diseases. The observed optical properties strongly depend on the
erythrocyte's size, hemoglobin composition and orientation relative to the incident light. We explored the effect of
orientation on the absorption and scattering properties of erythrocytes suspended in saline using UV-visible spectroscopy
and theoretical predictive modeling based on anomalous diffraction approximation. We demonstrate that the orientation
of erythrocytes in dilute saline suspensions is not random and produces consistent spectral pattern. Numerical analysis
showed that the multi-wavelength absorption and scattering properties of erythrocytes in dilute suspensions can be
accurately described with two orientation populations. These orientation populations with respect to the incident light are
face-on incidence and edge-on incidence. The variances of the orientation angles for each population are less than 15
degrees and the relative proportions of the two populations strongly depend on the number density of the erythrocytes in
suspensions. Further, the identified orientation populations exhibit different sensitivities to the changes in the
compositional and morphological properties of erythrocytes. The anomalous diffraction model based on these orientation
populations predicts the absorption and scattering properties of erythrocytes with accuracy greater than 99%.
Establishment of the optical properties of normal erythrocytes allows for detection of the disease induced changes in the
erythrocyte spectral signatures.
The physical and chemical changes occurring in blood that has been inoculated into a blood culture bottle can be used as means to detect the presence of microorganisms in blood cultures. These changes include primarily the conversion of oxy- to deoxyhemoglobin within the red blood cells (RBCs) and changes in the cell number densities. These changes in the physical and chemical properties of blood can be readily detected using spectrophometric methods thus enabling the continuous monitoring of blood culture vials to provide quantitative information on the growth behavior of the microorganisms present. This paper reports on the application of spectrophotometric information obtained from diffuse reflectance measurements of aerobic blood cultures to detect microbial growth and compares the results to those obtained using the standard blood culture system.
In the United States, approximately 100 patients develop fatal sepsis associated with platelet transfusions every year. Current culture methods take 24-48 hours to acquire results, which in turn decrease the shelf life of platelets. Many of the microorganisms that contaminate platelets can replicate easily at room temperature, which is the necessary storage temperature to keep platelets functional. Therefore, there is a need for in-situ quality control assessment of the platelet quality. For this purpose, a real time spectrophotometric technique has been developed. The Spectral Acquisition Processing Detection (SAPD) method, comprised of a UV-vis spectrophotometer and modeling algorithms, is a rapid method that can be performed prior to platelet transfusion to decrease the risk of bacterial infection to patients. The SAPD method has been used to determine changes in cell suspensions, based on size, shape, chemical composition and internal structure. Changes in these cell characteristics can in turn be used to determine microbial contamination, platelet aging and other physiologic changes. Detection limits of this method for platelet suspensions seeded with bacterial contaminants were identified to be less than 100 cfu/ml of sample. Bacterial counts below 1000 cfu/ml are not considered clinically significant. The SAPD method can provide real-time identification of bacterial contamination of platelets affording patients an increased level of safety without causing undue strain on laboratory budgets or personnel while increasing the time frame that platelets can be used by dramatically shortening contaminant detection time.
Recent developments in the characterization of particle dispersions have demonstrated that complementary information on the joint particle property distribution (size-shape-chemical composition) of micron and sub-micron particles is available from multiwavelength spectrophotometric measurements. The UV-VIS transmission spectra of the microorganism suspensions reported herein were recorded using a Hewlett-Packard 8453 diode array spectrometer with an acceptance angle smaller than 2 degrees. To eliminate concentration and particle number effects, the transmission spectra were normalized with the average optical density between 230-900 nm. Experimental results demonstrate that microorganisms at various states of growth give rise to spectral differences that can be used for their identification and classification and that this technology can be used for the characterization of the joint particle property distribution for a large variety of continuous, on-line, and in-situ particle characterization applications. An interpretation model has been developed for the quantitative interpretation of spectral patterns resulting from transmission measurements of microorganism suspensions. The interpretation model is based on light scattering theory and spectral deconvolution techniques and yields the quantitative information necessary to define the probability of the detection and identification of microorganisms. A data base of 54 pathogens has been created and demonstrates that the technology can be used in the field for real-time in-situ monitoring applications.
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