Micro Imaging Technology Inc (MMTC)

[besidestillwater]

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS)is the U.S. Department of

Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. Our job is finding

solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day,

from field to table. Here's a few rough numbers to illustrate the scope

of our organization:
850 research projects within 20 National Programs
2,200 scientists
6,500 other employees
100 research locations and 4 overseas locations
$1.1 billion fiscal year budget ......

http://www.ars.usda.gov/aboutus/aboutus.htm

excerpt from article below;
"ARS scientists are working with Micro Imaging Technology (MIT)"


Title: Evaluation of the MIT RMID 1000 system for the identification of

Listeria species:AOAC performance tested method 090325

Authors
item Ricardi, John -
item Haavig, David -
item Cruz, Lasaunta -
item PAOLI, GEORGE
item GEHRING, ANDREW

Submitted to: Journal of Association of Official Analytical Chemists

International
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2009
Publication Date: January 5, 2010
Citation: Ricardi, J., Haavig, D., Cruz, L., Paoli, G., Gehring, A.G.

2010. Evaluation of the MIT RMID 1000 system for the identification of

Listeria species:AOAC performance tested method 090325. Journal of

Association of Official Analytical Chemists International. 93(1):249-

258.

Interpretive Summary: Rapid and inexpensive methods for the

identification of harmful bacteria (pathogens) are required for food

producers and regulatory agencies. Presently, the preferred methods for

the identification of foodborne pathogens require extensive

microbiological and biochemical testing that often take several days to

complete.



"ARS scientists are working with Micro Imaging Technology (MIT)"



to develop methods to use their Rapid Microbial Identification (RMID)

System for the very rapid (5-10 minutes) and inexpensive (~$0.50/test)

identification of foodborne pathogens.
Here we describe the successful testing of the MIT RMID System for

identification of Listeria, including the deadly foodborne pathogen

Listeria monocytogenes. The use of this system by food producers and

regulatory agencies for the rapid identification of Listeria and other

foodborne pathogens could safeguard consumers by reducing the burden of

foodborne illness through a reduction in the distribution of

contaminated foods.

Technical Abstract: The MIT 1000 RMID System is a rapid microbial

identification device that uses the principles of light scattering

coupled with proprietary algorithms to identify bacteria after being

cultured and placed in a vial of filtered water. This specific method

is for pure culture identification of Listeria spp. A total of 81

microorganisms (55 isolates) were tested by the MIT 1000 System of

which 25 were Listeria spp. and 30 were a variety of other bacterial

species. In addition, a total of 406 tests over seven different

ruggedness parameters were tested by the MIT 1000 System to determine

its flexibility to the specifications stated in the MIT 1000 System

User Guide in areas where, in the Company"s view, might be deviated by

a User to shorten the test cycle. Overall, Micro Imaging Technology

(MIT) concluded that the MIT 1000 System had an accuracy performance

that should certify this Performance Test Method (PTM) for the

identification of Listeria spp. This report discusses the tests

performed, results achieved and conclusions along with several

reference documents to enable a higher understanding of the technology

employed by the MIT 1000 System.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?
SEQ_NO_115=247249



Test performance is not taken lightly
(We have one library certification so far. We did it)
read up on some of it, here.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Validation_Studies_Pathogen_Detection_Meth
ods.pdf



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ANNUAL REPORTING ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
FY 2009


FY 2009Annual Report
Page 32

ARS Downstream Outcomes


• 115 Research Projects
• 25 Locations
• 300 Scientists

Foodborne Pathogens

Methods that rapidly confirm the identification of foodborne pathogens

are highly desired. ARS
researchers developed the (MIT) 1000 Rapid Microbial
Identification (RMID) System, an instrument that detects laser
light scattered from individual bacterial cells. Identification times
are less than 10 min and operating costs are extremely low. The
MIT RMID was evaluated for identification of Listeria spp. Listeria
are common environmental microorganisms and one species, L.
monocytogenes, is a leading cause of death among foodborne
pathogenic bacteria. Under an AOAC RI Evaluation Test Protocol,
a total of 55 microbial isolates were tested of which 25 were Listeria

spp. and 30 were a variety
of other bacterial species. The system identified each of the strains

of Listeria and each strain of
other bacterial species was properly reported as unknown (overall

accuracy of 99%). This
Research is part of Food Safety, an ARS national program (#108).


http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/01090000/USDAFY2009AnnualRep
ortonTechnologyTransferreleased7July2010FinalNSSEPT.pdf




http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome

thanks for your interest in $MMTC
IMHO
bsw