Precision Microbial Detection
Antibiotic-resistant pathogens represent a growing global public health challenge, requiring diagnostic solutions that are both rapid and highly sensitive. Molecular diagnostics, leveraging PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, provide superior performance for the detection and characterization of infectious agents.
These advanced methods enable accurate identification of hard-to-culture organisms, polymicrobial infections, and antimicrobial resistance markers, delivering higher sensitivity and specificity with significantly reduced turnaround times compared to traditional approaches.
Limitations of Traditional Culture-Based Diagnostics
Conventional culture-based microbial detection methods are inherently limited in both scope and speed. These techniques are often biased toward select organisms and may fail to identify pathogens that do not align with clinical presentation.
Culture methods frequently miss slow-growing, fastidious, anaerobic, and certain Gram-positive organisms, and typically require prolonged incubation periods, often exceeding 72 hours. In many cases, reporting is restricted to one or two organisms, while detection of three or more is commonly interpreted as contamination, limiting diagnostic insight in complex infections.
Advancing Antibiotic Stewardship with Molecular Diagnostics
Delayed results and limited sensitivity associated with culture-based testing often force clinicians to rely on empirical antimicrobial therapy, contributing to suboptimal treatment decisions and the escalation of antibiotic resistance.
Molecular diagnostics offer a transformative alternative, providing rapid, precise, and comprehensive pathogen detection. By enabling timely identification of causative organisms and resistance determinants, these technologies support targeted therapy, improved patient outcomes, and stronger antibiotic stewardship programs.