In conventional microbiological testing and experiments, it usually takes more than one day to detect bacterial growth on agar plates. To solve this problem, we have developed a bacterial growth monitor by utilizing our knowledge, technology, and network. This new product is the world's first (according to our research) bacterial growth monitoring device that utilizes a thin-film transistor (TFT) sensor.
Previously, it has been well known to monitor the number of colonies and colony diameter by taking time-lapse images with a CCD camera, but it is impossible to detect from the logarithmic growth phase. With the newly developed product, the TFT sensor detects transmitted light through the agar plate, calculates the optical density (OD), and monitors changes in the OD, making it possible to detect minute bacterial growth that is difficult to detect with the naked eye. We are confident that this will contribute to shortening the time required to determine culture results, which has been an issue for some time.
In addition, we believe that the device will have a very wide range of applications, such as obtaining the growth curve of bacteria on agar plates from changes in the transmitted light intensity, and early prediction of the results of drug susceptibility tests using the disk diffusion method.
We are really excited about the wide range of applications that are possible, and we are glad that our bacterial growth monitor can help people involved in microbiological testing and research.
Product Manager
Reiichi Ariizumi