MD Innovate, Inc.

 

PneumoniaCheck™ is a new device designed to collect aerosols from the lung. Aerosols are collected on a medical-grade microbial filter. Pathogens may be detected on the filter using sensitive advanced Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques to identify small amounts of bacterial DNA that is specific to each organism. The device includes features that may help to reduce contamination and false positives from oral flora seen with conventional sputum samples. The selective sample collection could improve the identification of the lung pathogens over the current contaminated sputum specimens and allow for personalized therapy against infections for better clinical outcomes with this common disease.

While the analysis of the PneumoniaCheck™ filter can include traditional culture and sensitivity, gram stain, and immunoassay, it is designed for easy analysis by commercial laboratory PCR methods.


Uncontaminated sampling has the potential to reduce 50,000 deaths in the United States each year and reduce health care costs by over $10 billion.



PneumoniaCheck™ is patented.

Currently, over $30 billion are spent in the hospitalizations and treatment of antibiotic resistant infections. Obtaining a sample from the lungs is critical in appropriate selection of antibiotics, antivirals, and antifungals. PneumoniaCheck™ selectively collects lung specimens non-invasively as an alternative to a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).