How can you be sure if a wound has harmful bacteria?

The answer - Bacteria autofluorescence for the detection of bioburden.
Kent Imaging Announces FDA 510(k) Clearance of SnapshotGLO.

ACTIONABLE & ACCURATE DIAGNOSTIC DATA

SnapshotGLO is a handheld, portable bacteria assessment device that measures wound bioburden, monitors wound healing and assists clinicians’ decision-making for first-line treatments.

Using safe, ultraviolet (UV) light, SnapshotGLO provides users with a visual map of elevated bacterial loads in a wound. The device can highlight areas of bacterial loads over 10(4) CFU/g*, aiding clinicians in providing timely, targeted interventions.

Bacteria contain fluorophores which become fluorescent when excited by UV light. As a non-contact, point-of-care device, UV light from SnapshotGLO is used to fluoresce bacteria on the wound surface, creating an image that indicates the location of bacterial load. The resulting image will show red and cyan fluorescence to highlight the most common types of bacteria found in infected wounds.

With a single image capture, and the UV light undiluted by a filter, SnapshotGLO identifies wound bacteria while simultaneously capturing a clinical image for wound auto detection, segmentation and sizing. No reagents or additional markers are required.

SnapshotGLO non-invasively assesses bacterial bioburden at the bedside, providing actionable information early in the care plan. This enables more targeted treatment, supports enhanced clinical decision-making, and helps to reduce the risk of improper antibiotic use—all leading to a lowered overall cost of care.