MILANO – At the 21st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (www.congrex.ch/ECCMID2011), Bruker announced the successful completion of an integrated workflow using the Bruker MALDI Biotyper for microbial identification (ID) from cultures, and the BD Phoenix(TM) system for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). The ID and AST systems are integrated via the BD EpiCenter(TM)data management system.

The seamless workflow integration has been validated at a number of pilot sites in Europe and in the US, including public and private laboratories such as Dynacare (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Klinikum Bayreuth (Germany), Synlab Weiden (Germany), Synlab Augsburg (Germany) and the Vatican Hospital (Rome, Italy). The integrated workflow begins with ordering the MALDI Biotyper ID and BD Phoenix AST using the customer’s Laboratory Information System (LIS). The order is automatically transferred to the BD EpiCenter(TM) middleware and can be used for worklist management. Barcode labels containing the laboratory accession and isolate number can be automatically printed for the BD Phoenix and MALDI Biotyper samples. The sample location on the MALDI Biotyper plate is mapped using a pre-printed template and BD EpiCenter barcode labels. The barcodes are scanned into the MALDI Biotyper software for accurate specimen tracking. The AST and ID samples are then each processed according to their respective protocols.

Upon completion of the microbial ID, the MALDI Biotyper results and confidence values are automatically transferred to BD EpiCenter over a network interface, and the ID is matched to the AST results produced by BD Phoenix. All results are analyzed by the BD Xpert system for quality assurance and alerting. Completed results are reviewed and released for review by the clinicians and subsequently to the LIS.

Bruker is also working with BD Diagnostics on an integrated blood culture workflow, using the BD BACTEC(TM) blood culture system, the Bruker MALDI SepsiTyper Kit for sample preparation directly from positive BD blood culture bottles prior to rapid MALDI Biotyper ID.

“Detecting known antimicrobial resistance, and, more importantly, unknown or emerging resistance is a growing concern for laboratories,” said Professor Anne Simon from Saint-Luc University Hospital (UCL) in Brussels, Belgium. “For nine years, we have used the BD Phoenix System to determine antimicrobial resistance using its resistance marker detection capability. With the addition of Bruker’s MALDI Biotyper, integrated via the BD EpiCenter data management system, we can now rapidly and accurately identify a broad spectrum of microorganisms, which enhances our ability to provide critical results to clinicians that help improve patient treatment and outcomes.”

“We are very pleased to see that after six months of collaborating with Bruker, a number of pilot sites around the world have implemented this integrated solution successfully,” said Jamie Condie, Vice President and General Manager, Infectious Disease, BD Diagnostics – Diagnostic Systems. “It demonstrates that microbiology laboratories will find value in the combination of our two capabilities, which together can help enhance clinical decision-making and enhance laboratory efficiency.”

Frank Laukien, Ph.D., President and CEO of Bruker Corporation, explained further: “For Europe, it is important to combine the MALDI Biotyper with an automated AST system, which is compatible with the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, known as EUCAST. The combination of the MALDI Biotyper and BD Phoenix thus provides customers with the most advanced microbial ID system integrated with a EUCAST-compatible AST system. Bruker is committed to the Open Microbiology Consortium concepts of open interfaces, and of making its systems compatible with microbiology products from other vendors in order to provide the most advanced and cost-effective solutions to microbiology customers worldwide.”

About the MALDI Biotyper and Bruker Corporation

Bruker’s proprietary MALDI Biotyper solution enables molecular identification, taxonomical classification or dereplication of microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Classification and identification of microorganisms is achieved reliably and quickly using proteomic fingerprinting by high-throughput MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Applications include clinical routine microbial identification, environmental and pharmaceutical analysis, taxonomical research, food and consumer product processing and quality control, as well as marine microbiology. Bruker’s robust MALDI Biotyper method requires minimal sample preparation efforts and offers low consumables cost per sample. The MALDI Biotyper is available in a research-use-only version, as well as in an IVD-CE version according to EU directive EC/98/79 in certain European countries. The MALDI SepsiTyper Kit is presently for research use only. For more information, please visit www.bdal.com/maldibiotyper

For more information about Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR), please visit www.bruker.com.

SOURCE: Bruker Corporation