Automated rapid blood culture sensor system based on diode laser wavelength-modulation spectroscopy for microbial growth analysis

An automated rapid blood culture sensor system was developed to detect CO2 concentration levels in blood culture bottles and thereby monitoring microbial growth. The sensor system is based on diode laser wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (DLWMS), which offers low cost, high sensitivity, fast response as well as label-free and non-intrusive detection. The optical gas sensing module was based on a careful design to realize automated and rapid CO2 detection with the assistance of control and storage elements. A 2-month field test was carried out at the Jinhua Guangfu Hospital, Jinhua, China for the new DLWMS based sensor system, which exhibits similar performance to a commercial BacT/ALERT 3D automated blood culture system in terms of accuracy but with significantly reduced detection time.