Automated image analysis for quantification of filamentous bacteria.

BMC microbiology, 15(1), 255

Antibiotics of the β-lactam group are able to alter the shape of the bacterial cell wall, e.g. filamentation or a spheroplast formation. Early determination of antimicrobial susceptibility may be complicated by filamentation of bacteria as this can be falsely interpreted as growth in systems relying on colorimetry or turbidometry (such as Vitek-2, Phoenix, MicroScan WalkAway).

The objective was to examine an automated image analysis algorithm for quantification of filamentous bacteria using the 3D digital microscopy imaging system, oCelloScope.