Production of commercial instruments for sales and delivery was a key milestone for the Genome Sequence Scanning Technology.
The RESOLUTION Microbial Genotyping System is fully automated and includes the instrument, pathogen databases, bioinformatics and data analysis software, and pathogen-specific assays. The RESOLUTION System has been developed for food safety testing and foodborne illness outbreak investigations. Protocols have been developed that enable the analysis of food and clinical samples, providing molecular serotype and strain type for target pathogens in as few as five hours, without the need for a pure culture isolate.
The RESOLUTION System is based on PathoGenetix’s proprietary Genome Sequence Scanning™ (GSS™) technology, initially developed to detect bio-threat pathogens in environmental samples under a five-year, $50-million contract through the Department of Homeland Security. The breakthrough genotyping technology isolates and analyzes DNA direct from complex mixtures—without the need for a pure culture isolate—and provides molecular serotype and strain type information for target bacteria in just five hours. The strain type information provided by GSS is comparable to pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), the current gold standard for pathogen identification.
The RESOLUTION has a comprehensive Pathogen Library that includes 371 strains of Salmonella, 402 strains of E.coli and 53 strains of Listeria enabling significantly improved rapid and accurate identification of Salmonella and E.coli strains. With Resolution software, the end user has ability to add new strains to the library.
Working with its sister-company, Fluid Management Systems, Inc. (FMS), PathoGenetix has made a significant investment in the design over the past year and has begun commercial production of the RESOLUTION System at the PathoGenetix-FMS facility in Watertown, MA.
“PathoGenetix’ president Hamid Shirkhan quotes: It is exciting to be part of the development and launch of a break-through life saving technology for food safety and public health.”