UCalgary-developed technology enables 85-per-cent reduction in blood infection diagnosis times

When it comes to bloodstream infections, the dangers increase by the hour. It’s a race against time as physicians work to identify the microbes causing the infection and provide the right antibiotics. With a groundbreaking new technology that significantly reduces diagnostic times, a UCalgary startup is helping physicians win that race.

Developed by the team at UCalgary-affiliated Rapid Infection Diagnostics Inc. (RID), the tool is called BSIDx. With the push of a button, it identifies disease-causing organisms and performs antibiotic susceptibility testing from infected blood cultures. It conducts these tests and provides actionable information in five hours or less — a reduction of over 30 hours, or 85 per cent, compared to current diagnostic technology.

These findings were recently published in Nature Communications, showing how RID’s metabolomics-based testing strategy can be harnessed to complete microbiology assessments in a fraction of the current diagnostic timeline.

“This technology has amazing potential,” said Dr. Ian Lewis, associate professor and director of the Alberta Centre for Advanced Diagnostics (ACAD) at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Science. “The chances of dying from a bloodstream infection increase by eight per cent per hour until the right antibiotic is administered,” said Lewis. “Rapid testing can save thousands of lives and shorten hospital stays.”

The BSIDx was designed to meet the unique challenges of microbiology testing in large labs. It was developed in partnership with Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), Canada’s largest diagnostic service provider. “There is a strong unmet need for rapid microbiology testing tools that are low-cost, automated, and can support the massive testing volumes we process each year,” said Dr. Michael Mengel, north sector medical director, Alberta Precision Laboratories. “This technology was designed to address the significant challenges large labs face in delivering timely diagnostic services.”

“Our testing system uses a high-sensitivity mass spectrometer which is capable of detecting minute quantities of the molecules microbes secrete as a part of their normal metabolism,” said Dr. Thomas Rydzak, RID chief scientific officer and co-inventor of the BSIDx metabolomics technology. “These patterns of molecules change when microbes are exposed to antibiotics, and the BSIDx can translate this into information about which antibiotics will be effective.”

“One of the main advantages of RID’s metabolic platform is that it supports a broad range of microbiology testing applications,” added Rydzak. “Our BSIDx kit addresses a critical health need — rapid bloodstream testing — but the system can also be used for testing microbes from urine, swabs, and directly off agar plates.”

“The BSIDx allows us to identify the right antibiotic faster,” said Dr. Daniel Gregson, MD, an infectious disease clinician and clinical microbiologist with UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. “Rapid diagnostic tools will help reduce our dependence on broad-spectrum antimicrobials and will allow more targeted antimicrobial therapies to be used,” said Gregson. “This is important because it will improve patient outcomes and will help reduce selection for organisms that are resistant to our front-line antibiotics.”

RID technology was developed at the University of Calgary with support from Genome Canada Genomics Application Partnership Program (GAPP) and from a Prairie Economic Development Canada award supporting the Alberta Centre for Advanced Diagnostics. “These investments are critical for bridging the gap from academic innovation to real-world Implementation”, says Dr. Lewis. “Without this support, we would not be able to bring this lifesaving technology to Canadians.” 

The BSIDx has recently launched its first preclinical evaluation studies in partnership with Alberta Precision Laboratories. Dr. Lewis noted that this study, made possible through support from Alberta Innovates, would “provide the critical performance data we need to advance this disruptive new technology.” He added: “Our collaboration with APL is a critical step towards bringing the technology to the world.”

Following successful validation in clinical trials, the BSIDx tool is projected to see growing adoption at laboratories across Alberta and beyond. The research team anticipates that it will help physicians shave precious hours off diagnostic times as they work to save lives and combat antibiotic-resistant microbes.