Launch of ChromaZona, Expert Microbial Identification and AST Analysis System

Synbiosis, a long-established, expert manufacturer of automated microbiological systems, is launching ChromaZona – an IVD certified instrument for microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).

This revolutionary system is designed to help clinical microbiologists quickly and easily identify microbes on chromogenic plates and then by accurately analysing zones around antibiotic discs, determine which antibiotics to use to treat the infection.

ChromaZona, which has been reviewed by a number of establishments worldwide, including EUCAST, can identify microbes cultured on chromogenic agar from many major media manufacturers in less than a minute and will show the ChromaZona measuring inhibition zones around antibiotic sensitivity discs.

ChromaZona easily compares zone measurements to data from all organisms with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) breakpoint values in the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) database. The software lists which antibiotics the bacteria are sensitive to, and by using the built in expert rule database provides guidance for potential treatment options, in less than half the time it would take to complete these tasks manually.

The ChromaZona software generates objective, consistent zone measurement and plate image results which can be transferred and stored in Excel. This eliminates keying and data transfer errors, as well as providing fully traceable information and reports. The archived results can be analysed at any time and their use is ideal in hospitals wanting to identify and monitor incidence of bacterial resistance and could help improve their infection control. It is suitable for use in a CFR Part 11 environment.

“Microbial identification, AST measurement and interpretation are subjective and time consuming if performed manually and results can vary depending on the skill and experience of the microbiologist,” commented Kate George, Senior Divisional Manager at Synbiosis, “ChromaZona overcomes many of these issues and is like having access to an additional expert microbiologist in the lab. ChromaZona can help scientists to quickly and accurately identify all key clinical pathogens and determine which antibiotics could be used to treat serious infections caused by these microbes.”