The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 15, 2012
Filed:
Dec. 12, 2007
Erica M. Phillips, Woodstock, GA (US);
Richard Hantke, Chicago, IL (US);
Daniel Baird, Woodstock, GA (US);
Mike Rainone, Palestine, TX (US);
Thomas Edward Plowman, Cary, NC (US);
Talbot Presley, Palestine, TX (US);
Erica M. Phillips, Woodstock, GA (US);
Richard Hantke, Chicago, IL (US);
Daniel Baird, Woodstock, GA (US);
Mike Rainone, Palestine, TX (US);
Thomas Edward Plowman, Cary, NC (US);
Talbot Presley, Palestine, TX (US);
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US);
Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods and devices for detection of hospital acquired infections. Disclosed methods may be utilized for continuous in vivo monitoring of a potential infection site or for periodic in vitro monitoring of tissue or fluid from a patient and may be utilized to alert patients and/or health care providers to the presence of a pathogen at an early stage of infection. Disclosed methods utilize fluorophore pairs that optically interact with one another according to Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) or bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) mechanism. One member of the pair or a cofactor that interacts with an enzyme to form a member of the pair may be tethered to a device by a substrate that is specific for an enzyme expressed by a targeted pathogen. Upon interaction of the enzyme with the substrate, an optically detectable signal may be altered or initiated, detection of which may then provide information as to the existence of the pathogen at the site.