Rapid, Accurate Diagnosis of a Wound Infection with a Smartphone

The technology utilizes a smartphone as a point of care diagnostic to identify species of bacteria in a wound via light scattering.

Background:
The cost for chronic wound care, which is estimated to be $25 billion annually, is mainly due to improper selection of antibiotic treatment and the need to treat an infection quickly. The current method of diagnosing infections is a tissue biopsy and swab culture, a process that can take hours to complete and requires additional resources. In general, if a bacterial species is unknown, broad-spectrum antibiotics are used, which increases the risk of drug resistance.

Applications:

• Medical devices
• Smart phone apps
• Wound care companies

Advantages:

• Rapid and accurate identification of bacterial species from a wound
• A non-destructive and mobile medium
• Potential to empower a patient to notify a physician and receive the correct treatment without waiting for lab results

Status: issued U.S. patent #11,137,384