A rapid antimicrobial sensitivity test has been developed

According to the researchers, the development comes at a particularly important time – against the backdrop of a growing crisis of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, when more and more infections are becoming difficult to treat.

The team’s system, called QolorPhAST, is a compact, automated device that relies on nanosensors that change color in response to the metabolic activity of living bacteria.

Thanks to fast color response and image analysis using AI algorithms, the system is able to simultaneously determine the type of bacteria and their sensitivity to antibiotics without the need for lengthy cultivation. In a blinded clinical trial involving 54 urine samples, QolorPhAST demonstrated high accuracy compared to traditional laboratory tests while significantly reducing the time to results.

The device is compact, low cost and easy to use, which opens up opportunities for its wide application – for example, in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted infections. The developers are already working on commercializing the technology and expect to bring it to the market.