Wisconsin Company Developing Breath-based Diagnostic Test Technology that Can Detect Early-Stage Infections within Two Hours of Onset
Hospital-based pathologists may soon gain a new diagnostic assay that could prove effective in detecting hospital-acquired infections more quickly and more accurately than with existing rapid molecular diagnostic tests
Imagine a diagnostic assay designed for hospital settings that uses a specimen of the patient’s breath, can be performed at the bedside, and can detect early-stage infections within two hours of onset. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will recognize that a diagnostic test such as this could play a big role in helping hospitals reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAI).
That’s just one application that Madison, Wisconsin-based Isomark has for the new breath analyzer test it is developing. The company says that its diagnostic test is capable of detecting early metabolism and immune system changes based on reading carbon dioxide (CO2) in a patient’s breath.
Canary Could Affect Volume of Clinical Laboratory Specimens
The Isomark Canary Breath Analyzer test (Canary) was specifically designed to identify infections before they have a chance to overwhelm the patient’s immune system. Canary has so many potential uses for identifying infection early that, if the technology were cleared for clinical use, medical laboratories could eventually see a significant reduction in the volume of patient specimens coming into the microbiology department. (more…)
