Fast Detection of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa – IP 1402

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa is a common and opportunisticpathogen that produces serious infections to patients with low immune system,pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, blood conditions, and to people after surgery.Furthermore, healthy individuals can also develop mild illnesses from thesepathogenic strains. These bacteria are associated with severe adverse outcomesif treated with inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy, hence the need of anaccelerated technique for accurate and early detection that is noninvasive tothe patient. Several testing methods exist to detect the presence of thePseudomonas Aeruginosa. However, those techniques are invasive, costly, timeconsuming, need specialized labs, and highly trained personnel. An innovativetechnique being investigated at FIU allows for a noninvasive sampling ofsignature volatiles in the patients’ breath that can potentially provide afast, accurate and painless medical diagnosis tool. The highlight of thisinvention is the rapid sampling that can be coupled to commercially availableanalytical instruments. The samples can be easily collected in the doctor’s office,clinics, and hospitals and coupled to analytical instruments already availablein a lab for the comprehensive detection process. Anne Laure Schmitt Olivier aschmitt@fiu.edu 305-348-5948