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

Abstract An automated rapid blood culture sensor system was developed to detect CO 2 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 CO 2 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.