AMR testing technology from QuantaMatrix backed by research paper in Nature

The new test takes an average of 13 hours to identify the correct treatment compared to several days with current methods

Press release: QuantaMatrix, a clinical microbiology diagnostics company in Seoul, South Korea, has developed an all-in-one antimicrobial testing technology, ‘uRAST (Ultra-Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing), and the findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature.

Sepsis, a life-threatening condition where timely treatment is critical, has a ‘golden hour’ for intervention. Every hour of delay in administering the correct antimicrobial treatment decreases patient survival by 9%, leading to a 30% mortality rate within 30 days.

Traditional antimicrobial testing methods can take days, often too long for effective sepsis treatment. The uRAST technology eliminates the need for the initial blood culture process, providing accurate results within just 13 hours after blood sampling. This enables doctors to prescribe the right antibiotic more quickly and potentially save lives.

“The Nature publication on uRAST highlights its potential to become the new standard in clinical microbiology,” said Sunghoon Kwon, CEO of QuantaMatrix.

uRAST has a 94.9% accuracy rate, aligning closely with existing methods and is also able to detect small quantities of bacteria in the early stages of infection. When tested at Seoul National University Hospital, uRAST reduced the time from positive blood culture results to optimal antimicrobial prescription to an average of 13 hours, compared to current methods that typically take 48-72 hours. This time reduction includes both testing and the often-overlooked waiting periods between different steps in traditional processes.