Micro Identification Technologies Inc. is the developer of the revolutionary MIT 1000, a laser-based rapid microbial analysis system that harnesses the power of light-scattering technology and image recognition database software to identify, with unprecedented accuracy, various species of pathogenic bacteria, in record time, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
This device was created to fill the overwhelming demand for rapid identification of microbial contamination that exists within the healthcare and food industries, but also has multiple other applications in markets like clinical diagnostics, drinking water, pharmaceuticals, and semi-conductors.
Data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released recently indicates that an astonishing 76 million cases per year of food borne illness arise in the US alone, and while many of these cases merely cause inordinate discomfort or illness for a few days, 325k hospitalizations resulting from serious illness and an unacceptable 5k deaths are created due to a lack of such systems as the MIT 1000.
Elsewhere among the CDC’s own data are clear indications of an incredibly alarming trend in the rise of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) contamination, 6-9% per year, resulting in some 278k MRSA-infection related hospitalizations in the US alone in 07.
This could all be alleviated tremendously if the MIT 1000 were ubiquitous. The system, which uses its powerful array of 35 photodetectors arranged into 5 arcs surrounding the sample to collect data representing the varying light intensities generated when the solid-state 600 nanometer (30-45 molecular weight, 100 micron) laser strikes the cell, is able to ID 10-50 organisms and provide a match in under 10 minutes, offering an amazing way to quickly screen for MRSA and stop the distribution of contaminated foods.
Furthermore, the simplified design and use of the MIT 1000 – featuring a no-reagent process that requires only a minute sample, leveraged by an intuitive proprietary software environment (which is powerful enough to statistically differentiate bacterium using a massive database quickly and accurately) – runs under a standard Windows XP environment.
Executive VP and COO of MMTC, John Ricardi, projects a worldwide roll-out of the MIT 1000 via strategic partnerships, including a global manufacturer and 10-country distribution network in addition to US operations, with “the first models ready for delivery by midsummer”, and cash flow positive status for the Company within a year.
Ricardi spoke of the MIT 1000 as a true paradigm shift in testing methodologies, and noted how, for nearly 100 years, the slow and cumbersome culture, slide, microscope process has been used, and is used up to the current day to do this sort of analysis.
Ricardi made it quite clear that the MIT 1000 can do in 10 minutes, via one machine (which is a mere 1.25 cubic feet and weighs less than 25lbs. making it portable), what currently takes a scraping sent off to a trained microbiologist in a well-equipped lab 48-72 hours to do.
The MIT 1000 is completely in a class all its own; no competing device on the market today can match the speed and ease-of-use which the MMTC product offers, and because it can be operated by any non-technical personnel on-site with limited half-day training, as opposed to a professional microbiologist in a lab off-site, sophisticated workflow synergies emerge as a result of the presence of this technology in the field.
Ricardi pointed out the best part yet: jaw-dropping cost reduction, literally a fraction of the cost of existing rapid ID. In fact, the MIT 1000 can perform for $0.10 what now costs $2.85, as is clearly detailed in a recent report by leading industrial diagnostics powerhouse Strategic Consulting, Incorporated.
Ricardi plans to lean into the natural traction already afforded within the food industry, and believes the Company is poised to make huge moves due to the “tremendous growth in testing needs”, as the globalization of US food sources increases alongside competing industry pressures to increase efficiency and the bottom line.
Ricardi pointed out that this dynamism has led to increased speed/volume of throughput within the supply chain as a system, leading to increased contamination and hence inevitably and continually growing demand for systems like the MIT 1000, which, Ricardi acknowledges, is not a panacea able to resolve 100% of contamination issues, though it is head-and-shoulders above all alternatives and offers “a time-saving and cost effective solution to help alleviate some of the problem”; modest words, indeed, from the Executive VP of a Company whose product promises to lead to wide-ranging efficiencies in multiple industries.
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