MICROPATHOLOGICAL PATIENT REPLICA BASED ON UNADULTERATED WHOLE BLOOD

摘要

A patient replica is created from a layered culture medium where solid cultu re medium is formed so that a discontinuity exits between and contiguous with t wo of the layers of culture medium. An infusion port is provided in registration with the discontinuity so that a fresh unadulterated sample of patient blood can be infused into the discontinuity to form a thin layer of blood contiguous with the surrounding layers of culture medium. The thin layer obviates the requirement for any anticoagulan t alloying blood-borne pathogens to be readily cultured without using broth. Further antibiotics or other drug samples may be placed on the surface of the culture medium above the blood layer so that the antibiotic can diffuse through the culture medium and reve al the sensitivities of the cultured pathogens. Other samples of pathogens or tissu es can be placed on the exposed (upper) surface of the culture medium so that effects of drugs or growth factors present in the patient blood can be observed thereby allowing the entrapped blood layer to act as a biological replica of the patient.