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.

Automated Urine Analyzer Offers Fast, Sensitive and Precise AST in Near-Patient Settings

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 Apr 2023

Image: PA-100 AST System (Photo courtesy of Sysmex Europe)

Image: PA-100 AST System (Photo courtesy of Sysmex Europe)

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are highly prevalent infectious diseases, impacting an estimated 150 million people worldwide. Typically, these infections are treated with antimicrobial drugs. To determine the appropriate medication, healthcare professionals must conduct bacteria identification tests and drug susceptibility tests alongside clinical findings. However, these tests often take days to complete, making it challenging to prescribe the right antimicrobial drugs during the first consultation. Consequently, this can lead to the prescription of improper medications and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance.

The PA-100 AST System from Sysmex Europe SE (Norderstedt, Germany) is an innovative automated urine analyzer that expedites antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) at the point of care. By combining phase contrast microscopy and nanofluidics, the system generates antibiograms at the point of care. The cutting-edge nanofluidics-based technology ensures exceptional diagnostic performance. User-friendly and efficient, the PA-100 AST System can determine bacterial growth and AST in under an hour, with results conforming to EUCAST standards.

Employing lab-on-a-chip technology, the PA-100 AST System rapidly and automatically analyzes urine samples, optimizing workflow and providing results during a patient's initial visit to the physician. This breakthrough technology brings diagnostics to outpatient clinics, supporting evidence-based medication where extensive antibiotic prescriptions are common. By facilitating antibiotic prescription decisions in less than an hour, the system helps circumvent empirical treatment and curtail the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Related Links:
Sysmex Europe SE

Visit expo >

New

Gold Member

Rotavirus Test

Rotavirus Test - 30003 – 30073

Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels

New

High Performance Centrifuge

CO336/336R

New

Respiratory Bacterial Panel

Real Respiratory Bacterial Panel 2

Latest Microbiology News

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel

Image: The research team has developed the uCR-Chip device to enhance kidney function testing (Photo courtesy of University of Manitoba)

Low-Cost Portable Screening Test to Transform Kidney Disease Detection

Millions of individuals suffer from kidney disease, which often remains undiagnosed until it has reached a critical stage. This silent epidemic not only diminishes the quality of life for those affected... Read more

New Method Uses Pulsed Infrared Light to Find Cancer's 'Fingerprints' In Blood Plasma

Cancer diagnoses have traditionally relied on invasive or time-consuming procedures like tissue biopsies. Now, new research published in ACS Central Science introduces a method that utilizes pulsed infrared... Read more

Carbon Nanotubes Help Build Highly Accurate Sensors for Continuous Health Monitoring

Current sensors can measure various health indicators, such as blood glucose levels, in the body. However, there is a need to develop more accurate and sensitive sensor materials that can detect lower... Read more

Image: The paper-based device generates high-quality samples of dried plasma, enabling accurate measurements of HIV viral load (Photo courtesy of Charlie Mace/Tufts)

Paper-Based Device Boosts HIV Test Accuracy from Dried Blood Samples

In regions where access to clinics for routine blood tests presents financial and logistical obstacles, HIV patients are increasingly able to collect and send a drop of blood using paper-based devices... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel

Novel Autoantibody Against DAGLA Discovered in Cerebellitis

Autoimmune cerebellar ataxias are strongly disabling disorders characterized by an impaired ability to coordinate muscle movement. Cerebellar autoantibodies serve as useful biomarkers to support rapid... Read more

Gene-Based Blood Test Accurately Predicts Tumor Recurrence of Advanced Skin Cancer

Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, becomes extremely difficult to treat once it spreads to other parts of the body. For patients with metastatic melanoma tumors that cannot be surgically removed... Read more

Image: A group of proteins involved in cell signaling can be used as a blood biomarker for patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Could Identify Patients at Risk for Severe Scleroderma

Systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, causes the hardening of the skin and connective tissues. In many cases, the disease can also damage vital organs, including the heart, kidneys, lungs, and... Read more

Image: The test can find tRNA fragments unique to Parkinson’s disease before patients even have symptoms (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Rapid Blood Test Identifies Pre-Symptomatic Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Currently, no reliable blood test exists for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease. Instead, physicians rely on observing a patient's movements, but this qualitative method has an error rate of 20%-25% and can... Read more

Hematology

view channel

Image: The 3-parameter CCRS model was devised specifically for patients diagnosed with clonal cytopenia (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder

Clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) is a blood disorder commonly found in older adults, characterized by mutations in blood cells and a low blood count, but without any obvious cause or... Read more

Image: The technology has the unique ability to detect challenging RhD variants that are typically excluded by other commercial tests (Photo courtesy of BillionToOne)

Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Fetal RhD Status Demonstrates 100% Accuracy

In the United States, approximately 15% of pregnant individuals are RhD-negative. However, in about 40% of these cases, the fetus is also RhD-negative, making the administration of RhoGAM unnecessary.... Read more

Image: Leukocyte count represents an easily accessible, inexpensive clinical marker (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

WBC Count Could Predict Severity of COVID-19 Symptoms

The global health crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to impact millions of people worldwide, with many experiencing persistent symptoms months after the initial diagnosis. Cognitive impairment... Read more

Image: The high precision platelet counting technology reduces risks that can lead to errors in cancer diagnoses (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

New Platelet Counting Technology to Help Labs Prevent Diagnosis Errors

Accurate platelet count testing is a significant challenge for laboratories. Inaccurate results can lead to misdiagnosis, missed diagnoses, and delayed treatment for a variety of potentially fatal conditions,... Read more

Immunology

view channel

Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as one of the most promising recent developments in the treatment of blood cancers. However, over half of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients... Read more

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Cerebrospinal Fluid Test Predicts Dangerous Side Effect of Cancer Treatment

In recent years, cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach where the patient's immune system is harnessed to fight cancer. One form of immunotherapy, called CAR-T-cell therapy, involves... Read more

Microbiology

view channel

Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Image: The AI-based method can more accurately detect antibiotic resistance in deadly bacteria such as tuberculosis and staph (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

New AI-Based Method Improves Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Infections

Drug-resistant infections, particularly those caused by deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staphylococcus, are rapidly emerging as a global health emergency. These infections are more difficult to treat,... Read more

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more

Innovative ID/AST System to Help Diagnose Infectious Diseases and Combat AMR

Each year, 11 million people across the world die of sepsis out of which 1.3 million deaths are due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to weigh heavily,... Read more

Pathology

view channel

Image: The UV absorbance spectrometer being used to measure the absorbance spectra of cell culture samples (Photo courtesy of SMART CAMP)

Novel UV and Machine Learning-Aided Method Detects Microbial Contamination in Cell Cultures

Cell therapy holds great potential in treating diseases such as cancers, inflammatory conditions, and chronic degenerative disorders by manipulating or replacing cells to restore function or combat disease.... Read more

Image: The UG 100 sequencing platform features unique single base flow chemistry for speed, efficiency, and accuracy (Photo courtesy of Ultima Genomics)

New Error-Corrected Method to Help Detect Cancer from Blood Samples Alone

"Liquid biopsy" technology, which relies on blood tests for early cancer detection and monitoring cancer burden in patients, has the potential to transform cancer care. However, detecting the mutational... Read more

Image: The purple lung cancer cells in this image all have a specific genetic mutation (Photo courtesy of National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health)

"Metal Detector" Algorithm Hunts Down Vulnerable Tumors

Scientists have developed an algorithm capable of functioning as a "metal detector" to identify vulnerable tumors, marking a significant advancement in personalized cancer treatment. This breakthrough... Read more

Image: Multiplexed IF glycan imaging enables identification and quantification of cellular glycan signatures (Photo courtesy of Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adt0029)

Novel Technique Uses ‘Sugar’ Signatures to Identify and Classify Pancreatic Cancer Cell Subtypes

Pancreatic cancer is often asymptomatic in its early stages, making it difficult to detect until it has progressed. Consequently, only 15% of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed early enough to allow for... Read more

Technology

view channel

Image: Schematic illustration of the chip (Photo courtesy of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.117401)

Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples

Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more

Image: Pictorial representation of the working principle of a functionalized Carbon Dots CDs and EB based Func sensor (Photo courtesy of Toppari/University of Jyväskylä)

Innovative, Label-Free Ratiometric Fluorosensor Enables More Sensitive Viral RNA Detection

Viruses present a major global health risk, as demonstrated by recent pandemics, making early detection and identification essential for preventing new outbreaks. While traditional detection methods are... Read more

Image: In ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, light bounces off a crystal and briefly touches the sample, enabling researchers to take measurements (Photo courtesy of Georgia State University)

Smartphones Could Diagnose Diseases Using Infrared Scans

Rapid advancements in technology may soon make it possible for individuals to bypass invasive medical procedures by simply uploading a screenshot of their lab results from their phone directly to their doctor.... Read more

Image: A spectroscopic image shows on-electrode molecules that drive metabolite-sensing reactions (Photo courtesy of Xuanbing Cheng and Zongqi Li/Emaminejad Lab)

Novel Sensor Technology to Enable Early Diagnoses of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disorders

Metabolites are critical compounds that fuel life's essential functions, playing a key role in producing energy, regulating cellular activities, and maintaining the balance of bodily systems.... Read more

Industry

view channel

$Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)$

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more

Image: The Grifols-IBL partnership will initially focus on biomarker panels for neurological and oncological conditions (Photo courtesy of Grifols)

Grifols and Tecan’s IBL Collaborate on Advanced Biomarker Panels

Grifols (Barcelona, Spain), one of the world’s leading producers of plasma-derived medicines and innovative diagnostic solutions, is expanding its offer in clinical diagnostics through a strategic partnership... Read more

Image: BIOTIA-ID is an NGS platform that accurately and sensitively diagnoses infectious disease-causing pathogens (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

New Collaboration to Advance Microbial Identification for Infectious Disease Diagnostics

With the rise of global pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging pathogens, healthcare systems worldwide are increasingly dependent on advanced diagnostic tools to guide clinical decisions.... Read more

Image: The Procollagen-III-peptide (PIIINP) ELISA kit (Photo courtesy of Cisbio Bioassays)

Tecan Acquires ELISA Immunoassay Assets from Revvity's Cisbio Bioassays

Tecan Group (Männedorf, Switzerland) has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets relating to key ELISA immunoassay products from Cisbio Bioassays SAS (Codolet, France), a subsidiary of the... Read more