title: Portable bacterial identification system based on elastic light scatter patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Conventional diagnosis and identification of bacteria requires shipment of samples to a laboratory for genetic and biochemical analysis. This process can take days and imposes significant delay to action in situations where timely intervention can save lives and reduce associated costs. To enable faster response to an outbreak, a low-cost, small-footprint, portable microbial-identification instrument using forward scatterometry has been developed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This device, weighing 9 lb and measuring 12 × 6 × 10.5 in., utilizes elastic light scatter (ELS) patterns to accurately capture bacterial colony characteristics and delivers the classification results via wireless access. The overall system consists of two CCD cameras, one rotational and one translational stage, and a 635-nm laser diode. Various software algorithms such as Hough transform, 2-D geometric moments, and the traveling salesman problem (TSP) have been implemented to provide colony count and circularity, centering process, and minimized travel time among colonies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Experiments were conducted with four bacteria genera using pure and mixed plate and as proof of principle a field test was conducted in four different locations where the average classification rate ranged between 95 and 100%.
authors.affiliation: Dr, J, Paul Robinson Purdue University Cytometry Laboratory, Bindley Bioscience Center, Purdue University, 1203 West State Street, Discovery Park, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA. jpr@flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Euiwon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Valery
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patsekin
authors.forename: Bartek
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rajwa
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holdman
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sturgis
authors.forename: V Jo
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Davisson
authors.forename: J Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Robinson