A pad containing bundles of hollow glass microfibers has the potential to speed diagnosis time and cut costs for urinary tract infections, according to research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The pad is capable of separating the skin-borne bacteria or fecal matter that sometimes contaminates the urine sample when clinicians try to diagnose an infection. Beyond making samples easier to test for infection, the researchers suggest the innovation has potential to curb the overprescription of antibiotics by mitigating risk of contamination during sample collection for infants and bedridden patients — a common cause for clinicians ordering broad-spectrum antibiotics.
"More than 11 million urine tests are carried out each year in infants and elderly patients," Itai Monnickendam and Simi Hinden, MBA students working with the group as part of The Hebrew University’s BioDesign program, said in a news release. “This presents a market of $100 million annually in the United States alone."
UTI diagnoses are often complicated by difficulties collecting sterile samples of urine from at-risk patients, and the researchers say use of the microfiber pad helps to collect those samples more efficiently and more quickly.
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