Advanced development of the digital tuberculosis tester for MDR-TB screening

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death in the world from a single infectious disease, and the threat is becoming more critical with the spread of multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis MDR-TB). TB detection, and susceptibility testing for drug resistant strain identification, is advancing with the development of Luciferase Reporter Mycobacteriophages (LRM). Luciferase Reporter Mycobacteriophages will emit visible light at very low intensity when in the presence of live mycobacteria cells such as Tuberculosis strains. InterScience, Inc., together with its collaborators, is developing a highly sensitive, real-time digital detection system for the analysis of luminescent assays. Recent advances in system sensitivity, design, and implementation, as well as preliminary results of the development of individual test cartridges, will be presented. The ultimate goal of this work is to provide a versatile luminescence detection tool for widespread research and clinical applications.