EVACUATED SENSOR DEVICE FOR DETECTING MICROORGANISMS IN BLOOD SAMPLES, AND METHOD THEREFOR

摘要

A device and method allow for collection of a blood specimen and for detecting the presence of microorganisms in the blood specimen. The device is a sensor plate under vacuum which provides an environment to culture microbial organism colonies from a blood sample and a means to facilitate microbial detection and quantification manually or with an instrument. The vacuum sensor plate has a microorganism immobilisation matrix layer and a sensor layer. Detected microbial colonies are immediately available for further testing. A kit is provided having a needle assembly for direct draw of blood from a patient onto the immobilisation layer within the vacuum sensor plate. The sensor plate provides an area for accepting a blood sample, a mechanism to immobilize the blood sample on an interior surface of the plate, nutrients to facilitate growth of microorganisms in the sample, and a sensor layer for allowing the detection and/or enumeration of microorganism colonies within the blood sample. The Figure is an illustration of sensor plate (1) which can be in the form of a flat, shallow container with at least one side being transparent or lucent.