We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Alifax Presents First Automated System for Bacterial Culture and Susceptibility Testing at ECCMID 2022

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 22 Apr 2022

Image: Alfred 60AST is the first automated system for bacterial culture and susceptibility testing (Photo courtesy of Alifax)

Image: Alfred 60AST is the first automated system for bacterial culture and susceptibility testing (Photo courtesy of Alifax)

Alifax S.r.l. (Padua, Italy) presented the world’s first automated system for bacterial culture and susceptibility testing at the 32nd edition of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022) held in Lisbon, Portugal on 23 - 26 April 2022. ECCMID has become one of the most comprehensive and influential congresses in the field of infection and an exciting networking place bringing together more than 14,000 colleagues from all over the world.

At this year’s ECCMID, Alifax presented Alfred 60AST, the first fully automated system able to perform bacterial culture, RAA and susceptibility testing by automating the whole process of sample inoculation, reading and result transmission. Using the patented technology based on light scattering it is able to detect the presence of bacteria and their drug resistance in a few hours with high sensitivity and specificity. The CE - IVD Marked Alfred 60AST monitors the growth phases of bacteria from the inoculum step into specific culture broths providing real time growth curves and quantitative bacterial count results in CFU/ml.

Alifax also demonstrated HB&L, the first analyzer for bacterial culture and susceptibility testing in human biological fluids and urine. HB&L is the first analyser able to perform bacterial culture, RAA test and susceptibility testing on samples such as urine, sterile or non sterile fluids and other biological samples. Using the patented technology based on light scattering it is able to detect the presence of bacteria and their drug resistance in a few hours with high sensitivity and specificity.

Related Links:
Alifax S.r.l.

Visit expo >

New

Gold Member

Clinical Chemistry Assay

Sorbitol Dehydrogenase (SDH)

POC Helicobacter Pylori Test Kit
Hepy Urease Test

New

Repetitive Pipette

VWR® Stepper Pro

New

Japanese Encephalitis Test

Japanese Encephalitis Virus Real Time PCR Kit

Latest ECCMID 2022 News

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel

Image: The team behind the CASPDx project: Dr. Kieran Clarke, Commercial Lead; Dr. Emma Creagh, Associate Professor in Biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin and Scientific Lead; Prof. Glen Doherty, Consultant Gastroenterologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital; Dr Paul Leonard, Development Lead, Dublin City University (Photo courtesy of Thomas Deane, Trinity College Dublin)

Blood-Based Screening Test Targets Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with more than 60% of cases still diagnosed at a late stage. Uptake of existing screening tools remains suboptimal,... Read more

Automated NfL Assay Supports Monitoring of Neurological Disorders

Neuroaxonal injury occurs across a wide range of neurological disorders and remains difficult to monitor noninvasively over time. Blood-based measurement of neurofilament light chain (NfL) provides a biologically... Read more

CSF Biomarker Improves Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia

Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are frequently misdiagnosed, often being confused with Alzheimer’s disease because of overlapping symptoms. Objective diagnostics for these synucleinopathies... Read more

Simple Urine Home Test Kit Could Detect Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women globally and remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in more than 100 countries. Current diagnostic pathways rely on mammography,... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel

Plasma ctDNA Testing Predicts Breast Cancer Recurrence After Neoadjuvant Therapy

Accurate identification of breast cancer patients at risk of relapse after pre-surgery treatment is central to guiding adjuvant decisions, particularly in aggressive disease. Circulating fragments of tumor... Read more

New Respiratory Panel Expands Pathogen Detection to 25 Targets

Respiratory infections often present with overlapping symptoms, complicating differential diagnosis in acute and community settings. The stakes are higher for older adults, young children, and people with... Read more

$Image: Duke Health researchers Bradley J. Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D. and Vincent M. D\'Anniballe have shown a simple nasal swab can be used to detect early Alzheimer’s signals ( phot courtesy of Duke Health/ Shawn Rocco)$

Simple Nasal Swab May Reveal Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease affects millions worldwide but remains difficult to detect at its earliest, pre-symptomatic stage. Clinicians need tools that can identify biological changes before cognitive symptoms... Read more

Blood Biomarker Predicts Cognitive Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

Long-term cognitive impairment is a frequent consequence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest yet early prediction remains difficult. Clinicians commonly use blood-based markers to estimate brain injury risk... Read more

Hematology

view channel

$Image: Hemex Health’s Gazelle platform is designed to rapidly separate and detect hemoglobin fractions and variants using miniaturized electrophoresis technology (photo courtesy of Hemex Health)$

Rapid Cartridge-Based Test Aims to Expand Access to Hemoglobin Disorder Diagnosis

Sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia are hemoglobin disorders that often require referral to specialized laboratories for definitive diagnosis, delaying results for patients and clinicians.... Read more

New Guidelines Aim to Improve AL Amyloidosis Diagnosis

Light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a rare, life-threatening bone marrow disorder in which abnormal amyloid proteins accumulate in organs. Approximately 3,260 people in the United States are diagnosed... Read more

Image: The new device can fit in the palm and is capable of measuring the quality of red blood cells (Photo courtesy of Xiaoyun Ding)

Fast and Easy Test Could Revolutionize Blood Transfusions

Blood transfusions are a cornerstone of modern medicine, yet red blood cells can deteriorate quietly while sitting in cold storage for weeks. Although blood units have a fixed expiration date, cells from... Read more

Automated Hemostasis System Helps Labs of All Sizes Optimize Workflow

High-volume hemostasis sections must sustain rapid turnaround while managing reruns and reflex testing. Manual tube handling and preanalytical checks can strain staff time and increase opportunities for error.... Read more

Immunology

view channel

Image: The findings indicate common blood tests can provide insight to tumor activity before treatment begins (photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Study Identifies Inflammatory Pathway Driving Immunotherapy Resistance in Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer remains a prevalent malignancy with variable responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Clinicians often observe elevated C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 in affected patients, yet the... Read more

Image: Overview of the microfluidic assay for cancer-associated leukocyte adhesion profiling (Photo courtesy of Brian Choi, Seyong Kwon, Min Seok Lee, et al.,)

Microfluidic Chip Detects Cancer Recurrence from Immune Response Signals

Early identification of treatment response and relapse remains a major challenge in solid tumors, where minimal residual disease is difficult to detect with routine imaging and blood tests.... Read more

Cancer Mutation ‘Fingerprints’ to Improve Prediction of Immunotherapy Response

Cancer cells accumulate thousands of genetic mutations, but not all mutations affect tumors in the same way. Some make cancer cells more visible to the immune system, while others allow tumors to evade... Read more

Image: The study identified a distinct immune signature associated with treatment-resistant myasthenia gravis (Dodd, Katherine C. et al., Med (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.medj.2025.100987)

Immune Signature Identified in Treatment-Resistant Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a rare autoimmune disorder in which immune attack at the neuromuscular junction causes fluctuating weakness that can impair vision, movement, speech, swallowing, and breathing.... Read more

Microbiology

view channel

Breath Analysis Approach Offers Rapid Detection of Bacterial Infection

Accurate and rapid identification of bacterial infections remains challenging in acute care, where delays can hinder timely, targeted therapy. Infectious diseases are a major cause of mortality worldwide,... Read more

$Image: The study\'s findings show persistent standardization gaps among at-home gut microbiome testing kits (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)$

Study Highlights Accuracy Gaps in Consumer Gut Microbiome Kits

Direct-to-consumer gut microbiome kits promise personalized insights by profiling fecal bacteria and generating health readouts, but their analytical accuracy remains uncertain. A new study shows that... Read more

Image: New WHO guidelines recommend rapid molecular TB tests, tongue swab sampling and sputum pooling to improve diagnosis (Photo courtesy of WHO)

WHO Recommends Near POC Tests, Tongue Swabs and Sputum Pooling for TB Diagnosis

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s leading infectious disease killers, yet millions of cases go undiagnosed or are detected too late. Barriers such as reliance on sputum samples, limited laboratory... Read more

Image: The new imaging approach uses microscopic glowing tags to reveal gene activity in individual C. diff cells (Photo courtesy of Nicholas DiBenedetto)

New Imaging Approach Could Help Predict Dangerous Gut Infection

Clostridioides difficile infections affect roughly half a million people in the United States each year and are a leading cause of infectious diarrhea in healthcare settings. The bacterium can trigger... Read more

Pathology

view channel

Biopsy-Based Gene Test Predicts Recurrence Risk in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, killing more people in the United States than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined. In lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), tumors that invade nearby blood... Read more

AI-Powered Tool to Transform Dermatopathology Workflow

Skin cancer accounts for the largest number of cancer diagnoses in the United States, placing sustained pressure on pathology services. Diagnostic interpretation can be variable for challenging melanocytic... Read more

New Chromogenic Culture Media Enable Rapid Detection of Candida Infections

Invasive Candida infections are challenging for healthcare systems, with some strains spreading rapidly in hospitals and showing resistance to multiple antifungal drugs. Candida auris is associated with... Read more

Image: The new methyl-copying PCR method preserves DNA methylation patterns during amplification (Photo courtesy of Syndex Bio)

Novel mcPCR Technology to Transform Testing of Clinical Samples

DNA methylation is an important biological marker used in the diagnosis and monitoring of many diseases, including cancer. These chemical modifications to DNA influence gene activity and can reveal early... Read more

Technology

view channel

Online Tool Supports Family Screening for Inherited Cancer Risk

Genetic test results in oncology often have implications for relatives who may share inherited cancer risk. Many health systems lack structured processes to help patients alert family members, limiting... Read more

Image: Loza Tadesse, left, and her group looked to design a sensitive, portable breath test. Tadesse and Aditya Garg stand next to the Raman microscope (Photo courtesy of Tony Pulsone/MIT)

Portable Breath Sensor Detects Pneumonia Biomarkers in Minutes

Pneumonia is commonly confirmed with chest X-rays or laboratory assays that can take hours, delaying clinical decisions in acute and outpatient settings. Breath-based diagnostics promise faster answers... Read more

Image: The Fluid Ease Pro ClipTip supports reproducible pipetting in both routine and demanding workflows (photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific)

New Electronic Pipette Enhances Workflows with Touchscreen Control

Manual pipetting remains a routine yet error-prone step that can affect reproducibility and throughput in clinical and research laboratories. Training demands and ergonomic strain also add variability... Read more

Image: The AI system analyzes diverse inputs in order to make a diagnosis based on traceable reasoning (Zhao, W., Wu, C., Fan, Y. et al. Nature (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10097-9)

AI Model Outperforms Clinicians in Rare Disease Detection

Rare diseases affect an estimated 300 million people worldwide, yet diagnosis is often protracted and error-prone. Many conditions present with heterogeneous signs that overlap with common disorders, leading... Read more

Industry

view channel

$Image: IDT\'s Archer IVD Assay portfolio is built on easy-to-use Anchored Multiplex PCR technology (photo courtesy of IDT)$

Integrated DNA Technologies Expands into Clinical Diagnostics

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT; Coralville, Iowa, USA) has announced the launch of Archer FUSIONPlex-HT Dx and VARIANTPlex-HT Dx. This launch marks the company’s first in vitro diagnostic (IVD) offerings... Read more

Co-Diagnostics Agreement Expands Commercial and Distribution Reach in South Asia

Co-Diagnostics (Co-Dx; Salt Lake City, UT, USA) has signed an agreement for CoSara Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd., its Indian joint venture with Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Limited (Ahmedabad, India), to extend... Read more

Automated MSI Test Gains IVDR Certification to Guide CRC Therapy

Treatment selection for metastatic colorectal cancer often requires knowledge of a tumor’s microsatellite instability (MSI) status. Timely results can help clinicians decide on immunotherapy options.... Read more

New Partnership Brings Alzheimer’s Blood Biomarker Test to Community Screening Network

Lucent Diagnostics, a brand of Quanterix Corporation, has partnered with Life Line Screening (LLS) to offer Lucent’s non‑invasive, blood‑based biomarker test across the United States. Programs are... Read more