Singapore: Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, installed a first-of-its-kind cutting edge technology, bioMerieux's MALDI-TOF-VITEK MS system, in India. It is a rapidly automated microbial identification system that identifies disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi so that correct diagnosis and early treatment is achieved.

Dr Raman Sardana , senior consultant (microbiology) and additional director, medical services, Apollo Hospitals Group said, "Over the past decade, new technologies and automated solutions have greatly reduced the amount of time it takes to provide doctors with actionable results in managing infection."

"The speed of diagnostic laboratory results has a critical impact on curbing the increasing antimicrobial resistance. The rapid identification of microorganisms has been shown to help guide patient treatment and improve clinical outcomes. Waiting several days for a definitive identification of the pathogen provides an obstacle to the clinician seeking to target therapy with the most effective treatment. This is where technologies such as MALDI-TOF-VITEK MS are helpful with their accuracy and specificity," he added. 

With the help of MALDI-TOF-VITEK MS, the type of infection or infections present can be speedily determined, allowing doctors to more specifically target their therapies with the right antimicrobial at the right dosage. This plays an important role in preventing and slowing the emergence of resistant bacteria and fungi which is a much-wanted need in the world today. In the coming months identification of all microbes including virus would be a possibility.