Diagnostic Device Resembling a 'Pijet Spinner' "Detects Bacterial Infection Within 1 Hour"

General fidget spinner toy (left) and diagnostic spinner (right). Hold the center with one hand and spin the spinner's wings with the other hand to operate it.

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A diagnostic device has been developed that can determine bacterial infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance within 2 hours by spinning it a few times like a fidget spinner with your fingers. With a cost of only 600 won per unit, it is expected to help prevent the spread of bacterial infectious diseases in developing countries and curb the misuse of antibiotics. On the 18th, the Institute for Basic Science announced the research results of the team led by Group Leader Yoonkyung Cho from the Center for Soft and Living Matter.

Confirm bacterial infection and resistance within 2 hours by spinning 1-2 times

The existing bacterial detection process (above) and the diagnostic spinner (below)

The research team developed a manual diagnostic device for bacterial infectious diseases resembling the toy 'fidget spinner.' A fidget spinner is a toy that spins for a long time with little force. Inspired by this, the researchers implemented a hand-spun microfluidic chip.

The researchers designed the device to concentrate pathogens through spinning and then sequentially perform bacterial analysis and antibiotic resistance testing. By putting 1 ml of urine into the diagnostic spinner and spinning it 1-2 times, pathogens are concentrated more than 100 times on the filter. When reagents are added to this filter and left to react, the concentration of live bacteria can be visually identified by color, and the type of bacteria can also be determined.

After detecting bacteria, it is also possible to check whether the bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. Urine mixed with antibiotics is put into the same diagnostic spinner and concentrated, then reagent reactions confirm whether the bacteria are alive. This process takes 5 minutes for concentration and 45 minutes each for reactions, allowing diagnosis of infection and resistance within 2 hours.

The researchers conducted bacterial disease diagnosis by performing both hospital culture tests and diagnostic spinner tests on 39 volunteers at the Tiruchirappalli Municipal Hospital in India. As a result, they succeeded in detecting bacteria that were not cultured in the hospital.

Prevents antibiotic misuse in developing countries

This is the result of bacterial culture testing conducted at the central laboratory from patient samples and the bacterial detection results using the diagnostic spinner. The diagnostic spinner results not only matched the standard culture test but also successfully detected bacteria that did not grow in the culture.

Bacterial infectious diseases manifest with various symptoms such as abdominal pain, miscarriage, and stroke. Diagnosis of infectious diseases usually requires culture tests that take more than a day. In developing or underdeveloped countries, testing can take up to a week. Consequently, small clinics often prescribe antibiotics based only on symptoms. However, using inappropriate antibiotics causes bacteria to develop resistance, requiring increasingly higher-level antibiotics. While first-stage antibiotics cost only 500 won, fourth-stage antibiotics can cost up to 1 million won.

Group Leader Yoonkyung Cho, who led the research, stated, "Antibiotic resistance testing is complex and was only possible in modern laboratories, but this study enables fast and accurate bacterial detection, which can improve medical standards in remote areas." Co-first author Research Fellow Isaac Michael added, "The diagnostic spinner costs only 600 won per unit and can be used by non-experts."

The research results were published on the 19th in the international journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

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