New microbial ID technology based on light scattering

A new RMM player is about to make its entrance into the microbial identification field. Micro Identification Technologies, Inc. (MIT) and OSI Optoelectronics (OSIO), will manufacture a new microbial rapid identification system, the MIT 1000. The MIT 1000 is a laser-based, microbial rapid identification system capable of identifying 23 different species of pathogenic bacteria just minutes after culturing. The device uses the principles of light scattering to discriminate various bacteria cells that are suspended in filtered water. Incident laser light both reflects off the bacteria’s outer surface and penetrates the body of the bacterium, the light interacts with any structural features and eventually emerges from inside the cell. These light patterns are unique for each species and thereby create a signature that is captured and stored in a computer data base. The MIT 1000 features 35 photo detectors that surround the sample vial and collect light scattering intensities that are generated when a cell intersects the laser beam. Identification occurs when 10-50 organisms are analyzed, and typically takes less than 10 minutes. This is an interesting technology worth following.