Lasers used to diagnose bacterial meningitis quickly

The diagnosis of bacterial meningitis could soon be made quicker, allowing for swift treatment of the illness. The BBC reports that researchers from Strathclyde University, Scotland, have developed a new test for bacterial meningitis that makes use of lasers, allowing for a faster diagnosis.

Bacterial meningitis is a less common form of the disease compared to its viral type. However, it can be fatal if not treated promptly. It causes swelling of tissues around the spinal column and brain, which can result in brain damage and blood poisoning, as well as death.

Current broad-spectrum treatments can lead to an increase in antibiotic-resistant meningitis strains, as they often attack beneficial bacteria as well as the bacteria that cause the illness. 

A painful procedure - lumbar puncture - is also used to diagnose the illness, which only results in a small amount of sample being collected from babies or children, who are most likely to be diagnosed with the illness. This means that it can be difficult to collect the information that is needed for a full diagnosis.  

However, scientists have now developed Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS), which uses lasers to make the diagnosis. It works by scattering the light from a laser across a sample, which is first combined with silver nanoparticles, reports the news provider. This means that more than one type of bacterium can be fingerprinted at the same time, allowing for a more targeted treatment to be administered.

Dr Karen Faulds, a reader in the department of pure and applied chemistry and the university, told the BBC: "Essentially what you do is shine a laser beam at the molecule and measure the shift in wavelength.

"This gives you a fingerprint - what you call a vibrational spectrum.

"And you can definitively identify that molecule."

The details of the new diagnosis technique have been published in the journal 'Chemical Science'. SERS could help to identify a number of bacterias, viruses and fungi, allowing for the fast diagnosis of different illnesses and better treatment options.