Physiological-Temperature FISH for Rapid Pathogen Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional diagnostic methods for identifying antibiotic-resistant infections require days to determine effective treatments, leading to suboptimal therapy, spread of resistance, and increased healthcare costs due to lengthy cell purification steps and empirical use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Innovation Solution
A rapid FISH method that allows for sensitive detection, quantification, and identification of infectious pathogens directly in patient specimens, eliminating the need for time-consuming cell purification, and determining effective antimicrobial agents in several hours.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods are used, then reliable identification of effective antibiotics is achieved, but the process takes days to complete due to requirements for large numbers of purified pathogen cells
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and analyzes specific diagnostic features (ribosomal RNA sequences) directly from clinical specimens without requiring complete cell purification. By targeting and sequencing specific molecular markers, the method obtains sufficient diagnostic information quickly, eliminating the need for time-consuming purification of large numbers of cells while maintaining identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical cell purification and culture methods with molecular sequencing technology. Instead of physically isolating and cultivating millions of cells to obtain sufficient diagnostic material, the method uses DNA/RNA extraction and sequencing to directly identify pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns, dramatically reducing the time required while maintaining reliability.
2Measurement precision
If colony purification method is used to generate sufficient pathogen cells, then accurate pathogen identification is achieved, but the process requires one or more days to complete
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts diagnostic molecular information directly from clinical specimens without performing complete colony purification. By targeting specific ribosomal RNA sequences that are characteristic of pathogenic bacteria, the method obtains sufficient identification data quickly, eliminating the need for time-consuming purification steps while maintaining accurate pathogen identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary molecular extraction and sequencing of diagnostic markers early in the diagnostic process, before traditional purification steps would be completed. This preliminary action provides sufficient identification information rapidly, allowing the rest of the diagnostic workflow to be streamlined or eliminated entirely.
3Reliability
If broad-spectrum antibiotics are used for empirical treatment, then patient safety is maintained during waiting period, but antibiotic resistance spreads in bacteria and trillions of benign microbes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs rapid pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing as a preliminary action, delivering results in hours rather than days. This allows clinicians to prescribe targeted antibiotics immediately, eliminating the need for empirical broad-spectrum treatment and thereby preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance in both pathogenic and benign microbes while maintaining patient safety through timely appropriate therapy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent provides rapid feedback on pathogen identity and antibiotic susceptibility, enabling immediate adjustment of treatment from empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics to targeted therapy. This feedback loop eliminates prolonged empirical treatment and its harmful effects on antibiotic resistance, while ensuring patient safety through timely appropriate treatment decisions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid detection and quantification of infections in about 30 minutes and identification of effective antibiotic therapies in several hours, reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance and improving medical outcomes by administering targeted treatments earlier.
Implementation Method 1
fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) method for identifying and quantifying cells in a biological specimen
Implementation Method 2
fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) method for identifying and quantifying cells in a biological specimen
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a version of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in which all the steps are performed at physiological temperatures, i.e., body temperature, to detect and identify pathogenic bacteria in clinical samples. Methods of the invention use species-specific fluorescent probes to label clinically important infectious bacteria. A sample such as a urine sample is loaded into a cartridge, fluorescently labeled, and imaged with a microscope. Labelled bacteria are pulled down onto an imaging surface and a dye cushion is used to keep unbound probes off of the imaging surface. A microscopic image of the surface shows whether and in what quantities the infectious bacteria are present in the clinical sample.