Nanomotion-enabled ultra-rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing with magnetic bead-based pathogen enrichment for accelerated sepsis diagnostics

A new diagnostic approach significantly speeds up antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for serious infections like sepsis. Traditional methods rely on blood cultures and take 48–72 hours, often forcing doctors to use broad-spectrum antibiotics. This new method combines rapid bacterial enrichment from blood with nanomotion detection and AI analysis, delivering highly accurate results (94–98%) in as little as 2 hours after detection. Overall, it can determine antibiotic susceptibility within 9–11 hours—nearly two days faster than current standards—using small blood volumes suitable even for vulnerable patients like newborns. This innovation could enable earlier targeted treatment, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and improve outcomes while helping combat antimicrobial resistance.