A novel home-use culture mechanism for identifying microbial load in urine samples

Abstract

Diagnosing a urinary tract infection (UTI) is typically a clinical procedure involving multiple steps. The need to perform a test depends on the presence of relevant symptoms. Given the current pandemic situation, visiting a clinic may not be a preferable choice for many users. Many vulnerable groups of patients, namely, males with certain predispositions and pregnant women, may not present with symptoms of UTI, which could give rise to a more complicated situation. Microbial culture provides a definitive diagnosis for the presence of an infection. A home-use culture kit can serve this purpose; however, to our knowledge, no such kit exists. Here, we present a feasibility study of an affordable and easy-to-use home-based setup for quantifying bacterial load in a urine. Teaser A home-use system for monitoring progression and management of UTIs.