Judith Fitzpatrick

Title: Innovations by Judith Fitzpatrick

Introduction

Judith Fitzpatrick is a notable inventor based in Englewood, NJ (US). She has made significant contributions to the field of microbial analysis, holding a total of 17 patents. Her work focuses on developing devices and methods for estimating microbial load in soil, which is crucial for various environmental and agricultural applications.

Latest Patents

Among her latest patents are innovative devices and assays designed for estimating microbial load and differentiating microbial populations. One of her notable inventions includes devices, methods, kits, and means for easy, accurate, and fast estimation of soil microbial load, including fungal load and the fungal to bacterial ratio. The methods involve extracting soil biomass into an extraction fluid to obtain a soil extract, followed by detecting the fungal fraction, bacterial fraction, and the fungal to bacterial ratio in the soil extract. The devices typically incorporate the microBIOMETER®, which aids in particle size discrimination and absorbance and reflectance detection. The differences in microscopic sizes or spectroscopic absorbance of fungal particles relative to bacterial particles are utilized to compute the contribution of each type of particle to the biomass. In one example, the relative coverage of the microBIOMETER® device membrane by fungal and/or bacterial particles can be measured and calculated using a cell phone camera and application. Another patent focuses on membrane compositions for estimating soil microbial load, providing devices, methods, and kits that allow for rapid wetting with aqueous fluids while retaining soil microorganisms of up to 200 micrometers in size, without retaining soil pigments.

Career Highlights

Judith has worked with several companies throughout her career, including Serex, Inc. and Prolific Earth Sciences Corporation. Her innovative approaches have significantly advanced the methodologies used in microbial analysis.

Collaborations

She has collaborated with notable coworkers such as Regina B Lenda and F Victor Lee-Own, contributing to the development of her patented technologies.

Conclusion

Judith Fitzpatrick's contributions to microbial analysis through her inventions and patents have made a lasting impact in the field. Her innovative devices and methods continue to enhance our understanding of soil microbial dynamics.