Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is pneumonia that occurs >48hrs after initiation of mechanical ventilation and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients that are hospitalized in intensive care units (ICU). The risk of developing VAP increases during use, and a diagnosis of VAP has been associated with a substantial cost. There are up to hundreds of thousands of cases in the US per year, costing the healthcare system billions annually. Patients who suffer from VAP frequently require longer ICU stays, higher exposure to antibiotics, and more hospital care at the risk of increased mortality. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has further increased the use of antibiotics among patients with COVID19, an indicator of increased VAP prevalence. Before 2020, strides were made to reduce the incidence of VAP through hygienic protocols known as ‘VAP bundles.’ Despite the improvements, VAP continues to be a large problem, with the inoculation of pathogens within the endotracheal tube (ETT) itself. ETTs with built-in subglottic suction devices (SSDETT) allow the removal of subglottic secretions, but this has been adopted heterogeneously. We propose novel optical device designs to be used in combination with SSD-ETTs to reduce colonization and biofilm formation on the inner lumen of ETTs and reduce the incidence of VAP and improve patient care.
Escherichia coli bacteria are a source of food related illness. If irrigation water is contaminated by fecal matter runoff, crops may become infected prior to harvesting, processing, or packaging. Existing test methods require 16-48 hours for confirmation of bacterial infection in the irrigation water. Therefore, providing a means for a rapid detection of water borne coliform and E. coli within a typical workday of 8-10 hours would allow a preventative response. We have developed a method to determine bacteria presence by a measure of metabolic activity with a spectral analysis system. Metabolic activity of live bacteria will appear as a drop in solution pH in a relatively short time frame during the growth phase of the cultured bacteria. A blue LED is used to excite fluorescein fluorescence in the bacterial growth media. The fluorescence exhibits pH sensitive spectral properties within a range of pH 4-7. Unmixing of the fluorescence spectral profile yields the pH and confirms a growing bacteria culture. Results can be provided in hours instead of days, depending on the initial concentration of living bacteria.
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