IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,529,090
Granted Patent B2
US 12,529,090 · App. 18/215,601 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus

Inventor: Young Dug Kim (Seongnam-si, KR)
Assignee: THE WAVE TALK, INC.
C12Q1/18G01N21/59G01N2021/1765G01N2021/178G01N33/483
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,529,090
App. No.
18/215,601
Granted
Jan 20, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Provided is an antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus including a sample unit including a sample and at least an antibiotic disk arranged on the sample, a light source radiating coherent light to the sample unit, an image sensor detecting transmitted light passing through the sample unit to obtain a sample image, and a controller configured to receive a first sample image, which is an image of the sample at an initial time when the antibiotic disk is arranged on the sample unit, and a second sample image, which is an image of the sample after a preset time, to obtain a spatial correlation of an interference pattern between the first sample image and the second sample image, and to evaluate susceptibility of the sample to antibiotics based on the spatial correlation according a position.

Claims (21)

1 . An antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus comprising:

a sample unit accommodating a sample and one or more antibiotic disks arranged on the sample;

a light source radiating coherent light to the sample unit;

an image sensor detecting transmitted light passing through the sample unit to obtain a sample image;

a controller configured to:

receive a first sample image at an initial time when the one or more antibiotic disks are arranged on the sample unit, and a second sample image after a preset time;

obtain a spatial correlation of interference patterns of the first sample image and the second sample image; and

evaluate susceptibility of the sample to antibiotics based on the spatial correlation according to a position; and

a driving unit rotating the sample unit with respect to a rotation axis,

wherein when a number of the one or more antibiotic disks is 2 or more, the one or more antibiotic disks are arranged radially with a center at which the rotation axis is positioned.

2 . The antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

the image sensor obtains a sample image of a certain area in which the one or more antibiotic disks are positioned while the sample unit is rotated by the driving unit.

3 . The antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein

a center of the coherent light irradiated from the light source is located at a position spaced apart from the rotational axis.

4 . The antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured

to calculate a diameter of an inhibition zone of a corresponding antibiotic disk using a distance to a point at which a resultant value of the spatial correlation corresponds to a preset threshold, and

to evaluate the susceptibility of the sample to antibiotics using the calculated diameter of the inhibition zone.

5 . The antibiotic susceptibility evaluation apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to:

store information on the one or more antibiotic disks, information on the sample, and reference information for evaluating antibiotic susceptibility;

correct the calculated diameter of the inhibition zone by using the information on the one or more antibiotic disks, the information on the sample, and the reference information for evaluating the antibiotic susceptibility; and

evaluate the susceptibility of the sample to antibiotics using the corrected diameter of the inhibition zone.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 28, 2023
From: KIM, YOUNG DUG; YOO, JAEWOO; DO, HYEONGKYU; CHEON, DOO YOUNG
To: THE WAVE TALK, INC.
Reel/Frame 064100/0836 →
Priority Claims (2)
KR 10-2020-0188357 · Dec 30, 2020 · national
KR 10-2021-0191065 · Dec 29, 2021 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTKR2021020209 · Dec 29, 2021
Related Publication 20230340560A1 · Oct 26, 2023
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