miacom diagnostics Announces IVD Tools for Direct Testing of Respiratory Samples

miacom diagnostics specializes in the development and commercialization of diagnostics tools for identification and differentiation of bacteria in acute infectious diseases. The company was founded in Duesseldorf, Germany in 2006 with the vision to develop faster and better diagnostic methods than the ones currently available on the market.

With the continuing success of miacom’s hemoFISH® unique multiplex identification system for positive blood cultures, miacom proudly reveals its new line of kits to identify bacteria in pneumonia patients directly from respiratory fluids. With the respiFISH® Masterpanel, clinicians will be able to simultaneously identify the most clinically relevant Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria within 30 min directly from sputum, bronchial or tracheal secretions.

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung caused primarily by an infection with bacteria and is the most serious and common infectious disease with a fatal outcome in Western Europe. In many cases pneumonia may spread to sepsis. Especially children, older people, people with a weakened immune system and mechanically ventilated patients are at a higher risk of catching pneumonia. Estimates suggest that roughly three to four million people worldwide die of pneumonia every year. In Germany alone, some 400,000 to 600,000 people catch pneumonia every year. A timely targeted intervention is critical for the treatment of pneumonia patients and prevention of escalating to sepsis. However, traditional IVD methods involve subculturing that can add additional days to identify the bacteria and often show low sensitivities as the viability of the bacteria in the samples has been negatively affected during the transport to the laboratory. Other tests such as multiplex PCR, which do not rely on viable bacteria, are too expensive to be considered as a routine tool for diagnosis or even monitoring of patients and potential shortening hospital stay.

respiFISH Masterpanel covers 14 of the most common bacteria causing healthcare-associated pneumonia and thus provides physicians an indispensable tool for targeted antibiotic therapy in those patients. The test is designed to support routine diagnostics and results can be reported back to the ICU consultant in time together with the results of a Gram stain. Rapid diagnosis can save lives by enabling more effective treatment of the pneumonia infection and by lowering the risk of sepsis. In addition it reduces costs and overall healthcare spending by minimizing the use of broad antibiotics, and shorting hospital stay.

“One of the challenges facing physicians today is the rapid diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia. With respiFISH Masterpanel, we aim to improve patient treatment by providing physicians with the ability to detect the most commonly seen pneumonia bacteria and even mixed infections in just 30 minutes directly from sputum and BAL” said Dr. Mirko Stange, CEO of miacom diagnostics GmbH.

respiFISH® Masterpanel will be officially presented with a miacom own exhibition stand (no. 284) at ECCMID, the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, which will be held between April 25 – 28, 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark.