PA-100 AST System: bringing the power of laboratory testing to the doctor’s office [1]

The study showed that the Sysmex PA-100 AST system provided reliable AST outcomes, demonstrating potential for faster targeted therapy and enhanced antimicrobial stewardship. Results indicated clinical utility even with samples up to 120 minutes old, exceeding the standard 30-minute recommendation for fresh urine. When combined with pre-screening, the system showed potential for tertiary care settings involving older or complex samples from complicated UTIs. Baltekin Ö et al. (2026): ESCMID 2026: Evaluation of a Point-of-Care Ultra-Rapid Direct AST System for Diagnosing UTIs in a Tertiary Care Setting. Summary: In this study, the performance of the Sysmex PA-100 AST System was assessed for rapid detection of bacteriuria and direct phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in females with suspected urinary tract infections. Including 239 clinical urine samples from a tertiary care hospital, the system delivered AST results within 45 minutes. The authors conclude that the PA-100 provides reliable, rapid susceptibility results directly from urine samples, supporting earlier targeted treatment and improved antimicrobial stewardship, even when samples are analysed up to two hours after sample collection.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common bacterial infections often requiring empircal antimicrobial therapies. Increasing antibiotic resistance highlights the need for rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests (AST). This “off-label” study firstly evaluates the Sysmex PA-100 system (PA100), a nanofluidic-based automated system for rapid AST directly from urine collected in borate tubes (BT), focusing on its medical value on pediatric and male populations. Belot C et al. (2025): Evaluation of the Sysmex PA-100 system for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing in urinary samples from borate tubes. Summary: In this prospective study, the performance of the PA-100 AST System was evaluated for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) directly from urine samples collected in borate tubes. Among 30 suspected urinary tract infection samples, the system detected bacteriuria with a sensitivity of 82.7% and delivered AST results within 45 minutes, compared with 24–48 hours for conventional methods. The authors conclude that the PA-100 could supports earlier targeted therapy and reduce unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use, and the potential use of preserved urine samples from borate tubes, which is an off-lable use.

Astrego’s AST system provides acceptable AST accuracy (95.1% to 99.8%) and reproducibility (97.5% to 100%) during comparative performance evaluations at 3 different sites. This performance with an unprecedented turnaround time of 30-45 minutes can revolutionise the antimicrobial therapy by providing accurate guidance to physicians prior to prescription. Baltekin Ö et al. (2024): Reproducibility of Fully Automated AST for Direct Near Patient Testing. Summary: In this study, the performance of the fully automated rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) system for urinary tract infections evaluated in comparison to conventional microbiology. The platform directly processes fresh urine samples, detecting bacteriuria within 5–15 minutes and providing susceptibility results for five antibiotics within 30–45 minutes. Multi-site studies demonstrated excellent reproducibility (97.5–100%), while testing of 430 clinical isolates demonstrated AST accuracy of 95.1–99.8% and bacteriuria detection sensitivity of 98.4%. The authors conclude that the PA-100 can deliver reliable, near-patient AST much faster than conventional methods, supporting earlier targeted antibiotic prescribing and improved antimicrobial stewardship.