SBIR Phase I: Acoustic Sensor Based Point of Care Diagnostic Platform for Rapid Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

Award ID: 2451554

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in addressing the growing global burden of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs), which affect an estimated 150 million people annually. Current diagnostic methods are slow, requiring days to deliver results, which delays effective treatment and contributes to antibiotic misuse. This project seeks to develop a transformative diagnostic platform capable of identifying pathogens and determining their antimicrobial susceptibility within 60 minutes directly from unprocessed patient samples. By enabling rapid, evidence-based treatment decisions at the point of care, this technology has the potential to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and combat the rise of antibiotic resistance. Beyond healthcare, the platforms adoption could enhance public health preparedness by providing scalable diagnostic solutions in various clinical settings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on advancing a next-generation diagnostic platform that integrates novel acoustic sensing technology. The project will achieve three technical objectives: (1) demonstrate accurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) at pathogen loads as low as 10^3 colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL), (2) validate AST against one antibiotic from six major classes, and (3) expand testing to include a diverse range of pathogens (Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungal species). Meeting these objectives will establish the technical feasibility of a point-of-care diagnostic capable of rapid and reliable pathogen identification and AST. This innovation aims to address a critical unmet need in diagnostics, providing actionable results within 60 minutes at the point-of-care. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Henry Ahn