Research aims for two-minute diagnosis of CDI with laser spectroscopy

Clostridium difficile (CDI) is a hospital-acquired infection causing severe diarrhoea, which can prove fatal in vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly. Tackling hospital-acquired infections such as CDI is a government priority.

In an EPSRC-funded project due to begin later this year, researchers at Cranfield University plan to develop a diagnostic tool for detecting CDI on hospital wards, without the need to send samples to the laboratory for analysis.

The point-of-care device will use laser spectroscopy to identify specific chemical biomarkers for CDI in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by patient’s stool samples, according to Dr Jane Hodgkinson at Cranfield, a researcher involved in the project.

Current tests for CDI involve the use of expensive laboratory equipment, and can mean a wait of up to 24 hours for a result. Furthermore, the tests can only detect the presence or absence of the bacteria, which can be carried in a proportion of the population without causing symptoms, potentially leading to misdiagnosis in patients who carry C. difficile but have unrelated diarrhoea.