title: Bacteria identification of otitis media with fluorescence spectroscopy.
abstract: We have investigated the fluorescence profiles of four common pathogens: S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, M. catarrhalis, and H. influenzae. The steady-state auto fluorescence spectra of bacteria are measured as a function of the incident light from 200 to 700 nm. The spectra for each bacterium are combined into a fluorescence profile or fluorescence finger print. Each bacterium produces a unique in vitro fluorescence profile when measured in a saline suspension. The profiles are reproducible. Suspensions of a bacterial strain, where the identification is not known, can be correctly matched to a small library of previously measured fluorescence profiles using a linear least-squares fitting algorithm. In addition, we have measured the fluorescence and absorption spectrum of the tympanic membrane removed from a chinchilla. The optical properties of the tympanic membrane and the least-squares identification process form precept for a non-invasive, fluorescence based bacterial diagnosis technique to be used in otitis media.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sorrell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tribble
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reinisch
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Werkhaven
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Ossoff
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002682:Chinchilla; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000382:microbiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014432:Tympanic Membrane