Evaluation of the Wider system, a new computer-assisted image-processing device for bacterial identification and...

Area of Science:

• Clinical microbiology
• Medical technology
• Diagnostic imaging

Background:

• Accurate bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) are crucial for effective patient treatment.
• Current methods can be time-consuming, necessitating faster and more reliable diagnostic tools.
• The Wider system leverages image processing for automated analysis of commercial testing panels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of the newly developed Wider system for bacterial identification and AST.
• To assess the system's accuracy and reliability using clinical isolates and characterized resistant strains.
• To compare the Wider system's results against established reference methods.

Main Methods:

• The Wider system was used to analyze commercial MicroScan panels with 244 clinical isolates and 100 characterized enterobacterial strains.
• Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed.
• Results were compared to API galleries and National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) microdilution methods.

Main Results:

• The Wider system achieved 97.5% accuracy in species-level bacterial identification.
• Overall essential agreement for AST was 95.6%, with specific agreements for Enterobacteriaceae (96.6%), NFGNRs (88.0%), and gram-positive cocci (95.6%).
• The category error rate was 4.2%, including a very low very major error rate (0.8%) for resistant strains.

Conclusions:

• The Wider system is a reliable tool for bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
• Its image-processing technology offers an efficient and accurate approach to analyzing commercial testing panels.
• The system shows promise for improving diagnostic workflows in clinical microbiology laboratories.