Abbott has announced that its innovative diagnostic platform, IRIDICA, is now available in Europe and other CE-Mark recognized countries. The new platform can identify more than 1,000 infection-causing pathogens in less than six hours, versus the current standard of care (culture-based testing), which can take days.

IRIDICA uses a combination of sophisticated testing technologies known as Polymerase Chain Reaction/Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) to rapidly identify infection-causing pathogens directly from a patient's sample, without the need for culture. According to Abbott's RApid Diagnosis of Infections in the CriticAlly IlL (RADICAL) study results, the technology was able to detect pathogens when the current standard of care did not. An analysis of the study results suggested that Abbott's technology could help lower associated health care costs by 30 percent and reduce hospital stays for people with serious infections by up to eight days.

"Currently, when a person enters a hospital with a suspected infection, it may take several days before the source can be accurately identified, which can delay appropriate treatment. IRIDICA can offer a better and faster way to detect and identify pathogens that cause serious infections and aid physicians in diagnosing and managing the critically ill," said Mr David J Ecker, divisional vice president, R&D for Abbott's Ibis Biosciences business.

IRIDICA currently offers five testing panels for pathogens that cause infections in the critically ill such as sepsis; other bacterial, fungal and viral infections; and ventilator-associated pneumonia.