The study of infectious disease is vital from the bench to the bedside, where a timely diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. Current infectious disease detection and monitoring are challenged with discriminating between bacterial and viral infections and to provide results in a timely fashion. This decision point is crucial, as the misuse of antibiotics leads to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria and is estimated to cost the worldwide healthcare system tens of billions of dollars annually. Recent studies [1-5] have instead focused on host white blood cell response biomarkers as a means of identifying and distinguishing infections in a more rapid fashion.
-
Detects host response to virus, bacteria, or protozoans
-
Measures changes in red blood cell deformability associated with sepsis and other diseases
-
Quantifies mammalian cell infection with virus or bacteria
-
Discovers and isolates populations of cells that have been phenotypically altered due to infection
LumaCyte’s label-free LFC technology can measure host response as well as easily detect viral infection and bacterial exposure in a cell sample. By identifying and collecting previously unknown populations of cells that have undergone subtle phenotypic changes, researchers have the potential to develop new biomarkers based on intrinsic properties opening new areas of scientific investigation and improving the speed and accuracy of diagnosis.
