VITEK^® 2 Advanced Expert System^™

Answers for faster targeted therapy

Rapid, reliable identification of pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility is a key tool in our arsenal against antimicrobial resistance. For real value, microbiology labs need confidence in Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) results. The winning combination of VITEK^® 2 AST^* cards and the Advanced Expert System™ allows you to rapidly provide reliable and relevant AST results to determine the resistance mechanisms expressed, so clinicians can make appropriate decisions for antibiotic therapy and implementation of measures to help prevent the spread of pathogens.

*Contact your local bioMérieux representative for more information on AST card configurations available in your area.

Rapid, automatic and systematic validation of every AST result

The Advanced Expert System™ ensures quality susceptibility test results and decreases the chance for human error through rapid, automatic and systematic validation of every susceptibility test result. Every Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) result is checked against a database of more than 3,500 phenotypes and 30,000 MIC distributions to determine consistency with previously defined wild or resistant phenotypes.

Colored confidence indicators allow for easy and consistent result review:

• Green: Indicates isolates fit an expected pattern for a defined phenotype. Results can be rapidly and confidently released with little or no intervention by laboratory personnel. These results can also be auto-posted to the LIS for faster targeted therapy.
• Yellow: Indicates an MIC value does not fit the expected pattern for a known phenotype. The antibiotic is flagged for follow-up.
• Red: Indicates an MIC pattern for the tested isolate that could not be matched to a known phenotype. The isolate is stopped for review, providing confidence that ambiguous results will not be reported. Red indicators may suggest technical errors or a new mechanism of resistance.
• Purple: Indicates organisms that do not have predefined phenotypes in the database. The isolate is stopped for review.
• Black: Indicates no breakpoints defined for the organism and antimicrobials tested.

Efficient and focused use of laboratory professionals’ time

It’s a frustrating modern irony that as the healthcare environment faces ever-more complex challenges like microbial resistance, financial pressures can cut back resources including laboratory personnel. Shortage of experienced microbiologists is not uncommon. Even if staffing levels are appropriate, susceptibility testing and resistant mechanisms are constantly changing – lab personnel must make the most of their skills and time. The Advanced Expert System™ helps enable efficient use of the lab professional’s time through the automated review of AST results. The system’s colored indicators that automatically and reliably separate consistent from inconsistent results allow microbiologists to focus their expertise where needed – on the inconsistent results.