Microscopic view of bacteria illuminated by light, representing rapid antibiotic testing and sepsis treatment.

Speeding Up Sepsis Treatment: The Future of Antibiotic Testing

Samir D’Costa in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 4 min read.

"New photonic technologies offer hope for faster antibiotic susceptibility testing, potentially saving lives by enabling quicker, more targeted treatment decisions."

For decades, antibiotics dramatically slashed death rates from infections, but infections remain a major global killer. The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious threat, fueled by overuse in medicine and agriculture. This resistance makes treating infections harder, especially in cases of sepsis, where a rapid response is critical.

Sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body's overwhelming response to an infection, demands swift and precise action. Doctors need to identify the specific bacteria causing the infection and, crucially, determine which antibiotics will work. Current standard methods for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) take days, delaying effective treatment. Until the test results are available, broad-spectrum antibiotics are often used, which may not be effective against the specific infection and contribute to further resistance.

The urgent need for faster AST methods has spurred innovation, particularly using photonics—the science of light. This article explores how photonic technologies are revolutionizing antibiotic susceptibility testing, offering the potential to deliver results in hours and enabling tailored treatment plans that can significantly improve patient outcomes.

How Photonics are Revolutionizing Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

Microscopic view of bacteria illuminated by light, representing rapid antibiotic testing and sepsis treatment.

Traditional AST methods rely on culturing bacteria in the presence of different antibiotics to see if they grow. While accurate, this process is time-consuming. Photonics offers alternative approaches by using light to detect how bacteria respond to antibiotics in real-time. Here's how:

Elastic light scattering: This method measures how bacteria scatter light, providing information about their density and growth rate. Devices like the BacterioScan® system use this technique to detect even small changes in bacterial growth, quickly determining if an antibiotic is effective.

VRE and VSE discrimination.
MRSA and MSSA discrimination.
Carbapenem resistance detection.

Vibrational Spectroscopy: Techniques like Raman spectroscopy analyze the chemical composition of bacteria by examining how they interact with light. This provides a "spectroscopic fingerprint" that reveals how antibiotics are affecting the bacteria's metabolism and cellular structure. This label-free and non-destructive method enables fast and easy sample preparation.

The Promise of Faster Results: A New Era in Infection Treatment

Photonic AST methods hold tremendous promise for combating antibiotic resistance and improving sepsis treatment. By delivering results in hours, these technologies can empower doctors to make informed decisions, prescribe targeted antibiotics, and minimize the use of broad-spectrum drugs.

While challenges remain in translating these technologies to widespread clinical use, the ongoing research and development in photonics is paving the way for a new era of personalized medicine in infectious disease.

The move to automation and high-throughput testing for better diagnostics, and quicker and more reliable insights is here, stay tuned for many developments or combinations of them that will lead to faster test results for patient treatment soon.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1007/s00253-018-9505-4, Alternate LINK

Title: Phenotypic Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing Of Pathogenic Bacteria Using Photonic Readout Methods: Recent Achievements And Impact

Subject: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Journal: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Astrid Tannert, Richard Grohs, Jürgen Popp, Ute Neugebauer

Published: 2018-11-15

Everything You Need To Know

Why is rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing so important in treating conditions like sepsis?

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body's overwhelming response to an infection. It's critical to quickly identify the bacteria causing the infection and determine which antibiotics will work. Current standard Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing methods can take days, delaying effective treatment. This delay often leads to the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which may not be effective and can contribute to antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the faster Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing methods are crucial.

How are photonic technologies transforming antibiotic susceptibility testing?

Photonic technologies are revolutionizing Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing by using light to detect how bacteria respond to antibiotics in real-time, significantly speeding up the process compared to traditional methods. These methods include Elastic Light Scattering and Vibrational Spectroscopy. Technologies like BacterioScan® use Elastic Light Scattering to detect small changes in bacterial growth. Raman spectroscopy uses Vibrational Spectroscopy to analyze the chemical composition of bacteria.

What exactly does elastic light scattering measure in the context of antibiotic susceptibility testing, and how does a system like BacterioScan® utilize it?

Elastic light scattering measures how bacteria scatter light, which provides information about their density and growth rate. For example, the BacterioScan® system uses this technique to detect even small changes in bacterial growth, quickly determining if an antibiotic is effective against particular species and resistances such as VRE, VSE, MRSA, MSSA, and Carbapenem resistance.

Can you explain how Vibrational Spectroscopy, specifically Raman spectroscopy, is used to analyze bacteria when testing antibiotic effectiveness?

Vibrational Spectroscopy, such as Raman spectroscopy, analyzes the chemical composition of bacteria by examining how they interact with light. This provides a spectroscopic fingerprint revealing how antibiotics are affecting the bacteria's metabolism and cellular structure. This label-free and non-destructive method enables fast and easy sample preparation. This is particularly useful because it allows researchers and clinicians to observe the direct impact of antibiotics on bacterial cells without altering or damaging the sample.

What are the broader implications of faster antibiotic susceptibility testing for combating antibiotic resistance and improving patient outcomes?

Faster Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing methods, like those using photonics, hold immense promise for combating antibiotic resistance and improving sepsis treatment. By delivering results in hours, these technologies enable doctors to make informed decisions, prescribe targeted antibiotics, and minimize the use of broad-spectrum drugs. This reduces the risk of fostering further antibiotic resistance and leads to personalized medicine in infectious disease, ultimately improving patient outcomes and saving lives. The potential extends to reducing healthcare costs associated with prolonged hospital stays and ineffective treatments.