title: Brillouin spectroscopy as a new method of screening for increased CSF total protein during bacterial meningitis.
abstract: Bacterial meningitis is a disease of pronounced clinical significance, especially in the developing world. Immediate treatment with antibiotics is essential, and no single test can provide a conclusive diagnosis. It is well established that elevated total protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with bacterial meningitis. Brillouin spectroscopy is a widely used optical technique for noninvasive determination of the elastic moduli of materials. We found that elevated protein levels in CSF alter the fluid elasticity sufficiently to be measurable by Brillouin spectroscopy, with model healthy and diseased fluids distinguishable to marked significance (P = 0.014), which increases with sample concentration by dialysis. Typical raw output of a 2-stage VIPA Brillouin spectrometer: inelastically scattered Brillouin peaks (arrows) and elastically scattered incident radiation (center cross).
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Steelman
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Zhaokai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Traverso
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. yakovlev@bme.tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Vladislav V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Yakovlev
mesh_terms: D002556:Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002556:Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins
keywords: bacterial; meningitis; molecular; optics and photonics; pathology; spectrum analysis