MicroStreak

STATUS
Technology Divested
START DATE
2004 (divested in 2017)

LBT’s MicroStreak technology automates the process of culture plate streaking and inoculation for busy microbiology laboratories. This first in class technology initiated a new wave of automation in clinical microbiology.

Challenges for Microbiology labs

Labour Intensive Process

The inoculation and streaking of biological samples onto agar plates for clinical microbiology is a time consuming and manual process.  The process is highly labour intensive and involves employing numerous technical staff and pre-qualified microbiologists to manually prepare the plates. The result is time consuming, repetitive and highly prone to human error.

Key limitations include:

  • Inconsistent Results
  • Labour intensive and time consuming
  • Requires significant space
  • Subject to human error through enhanced contamination and mislabeling risks

“…superior streaking patterns and more isolated bacteria than manual streaking, enabling laboratories to deliver faster, more accurate results to microbiologists and physicians.”

MicroStreak®

An automated microbiology system for streaking biological samples onto culture plates. Licensed to the French diagnostics company bioMerieux who sold it internationally as PREVI®ISOLA.

MicroStreak product timeline

LBT Solution

Invented in 2004 by LBT’s founding Scientific Director John Glasson, Microstreak was LBT’s foundation technology for the automation of culture plate streaking and inoculation. The technology was shown to deliver superior streaking patterns and more isolated bacteria than manual streaking, enabling laboratories to deliver faster, more accurate results to microbiologists and physicians.

MicroStreak was originally sold from 2007-2015 as the PREVI® Isola through a licence arrangement with French based multinational diagnostic company bioMérieux. The technology proved to be an extremely versatile and effective modular technology for clinical microbiology laboratories. The instrument was easily integrated with existing laboratory processes and sparked the initial growth of the global laboratory automation trend.

Following on from the successful initial commercialisation of the MicroStreak technology, LBT recognised the need to upgrade and present to the market a second-generation automation instrument and decided to sell the intellectual property right to china based Autobio Diagnostic Co for product re-development.

Microstreak plates