MicrobeDX is developing laboratory tests that tell clinicians which bacteria are causing a patient's infection and which antibiotics those bacteria are susceptible to, in hours instead of days. Developed through years of research. Tested in Saskatchewan.
MicrobeDX's assays were evaluated on patient specimens at Royal University Hospital as part of a three-year Saskatchewan laboratory programme. The work measured bacterial identification, antibiotic susceptibility and turnaround alongside conventional laboratory methods.
Read the evaluation and its limits
The evaluation used a legacy instrument. Validation on the Luminex LX200 is now under way. Effects on treatment decisions, hospital stays and costs remain to be studied.
Time from a specimen reaching the laboratory to a reportable result for urinary tract infection, as measured in the Saskatchewan programme beside the conventional workflow. Both rows share one scale.
| Workflow | Bacteria identified | Antibiotic susceptibility |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional culture | about 35 | 40 to 171 |
| MicrobeDX | about 2.7 | about 5 |
Four consequences of a slow answer.
An admitted patient with a suspected serious bacterial infection often waits for the bacteria to be identified and their susceptibility confirmed before treatment is changed or discharge is considered.
Initial treatment begins before test results are available and is adjusted later. Sometimes the first antibiotic does not cover the bacteria. Sometimes it is broader than the patient needed, which contributes to antibiotic resistance.
In a small hospital without microbiology the sample is couriered to a city and the clock starts again, or the patient is moved to where the answer can be acted on.
Diagnostic turnaround for bacterial infection is seldom reported together with its effect on treatment decisions and hospital capacity. Measuring both is the first step toward shortening it.
RapidID identifies bacteria. RapidAST measures their response to antibiotics. The assays are designed to use the same specimen on compatible Luminex instruments.
The specimen enters the laboratory's normal intake. Bloodstream testing starts from the positive culture, not from the patient's blood draw.
A molecular assay identifies the bacteria by their ribosomal RNA, several species in one run, without waiting for a culture to grow.
The bacteria are exposed to antibiotics and their growth response is measured directly, so the result reflects what the bacteria actually do rather than only what their genes predict.
The clinician who admitted the patient can target treatment before the shift ends, instead of adjusting the initial antibiotic days later.
The assays are kit-based and designed for Luminex xMAP instruments already installed in many clinical laboratories, so a laboratory with a compatible instrument can run them on equipment it already operates.
Programme results were generated on a legacy instrument. Validation on the current platform and the applicable regulatory pathway are part of the development programme. Clearance of an instrument does not itself authorize MicrobeDX's assays for clinical use.
“Modernize laboratory medicine using new technologies to shorten turnaround times.”
Patients First Health Care Plan, Government of Saskatchewan, March 2026.
A same-shift result lets the admitting clinician make treatment and disposition decisions before the shift ends.
Evaluate whether shorter diagnostic waits reduce avoidable bed-days for admitted patients with serious infection.
A small hospital could identify the bacteria and their susceptibility on site, instead of couriering the specimen to a city or transferring the patient.
Urinary tract infection is among the most common infections in long-term care. A same-day answer supports treating the resident in the home rather than in hospital.
Rapid molecular identification of bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility on instruments laboratories already run, with turnaround measured and reported.
Priorities aligned with the published plan. These are objectives for evaluation, not measured outcomes of MicrobeDX's assays.
Research group formed to identify bacteria directly by their ribosomal RNA and measure antibiotic response the same day, later supported by NIH grants.
NIH small-business research funding supports the UroLogic system.
Operations move to Saskatoon in 2020. A three-year joint laboratory programme follows, with urine specimens collected in 2021 and 2022 plus positive blood cultures.
Assays migrated to the Luminex LX200. A prospective emergency-department study is proposed to measure clinical and health-system effects.
Platform-specific validation, prospective clinical evaluation and the applicable regulatory pathway. No commercial availability date is stated.
Milestones are management-reported; external awards as published by the awarding bodies.
