MIT Blog
Micro Identification Technologies and Northern Michigan University publish a paper in the Journal of AOAC International
MIT and their collaborators in the lab of Dr. Josh Sharp of Northern Michigan University have jointly published a paper in the peer reviewed Journal of AOAC International. The paper describes the technology behind the MIT 1000 and identification testing relating to the bacterial genus, Staphylococcus.
The paper is available, pre-publication, through the Journal's fast track web page. The article may be viewed at this address: http://aoac.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/aoac/jaoac/pre-prints/content-jaoac_170097. The paper will be published in volume 100 issue number 6 of the Journal of AOAC International. After it is published it will then be available as an open access article via the Journal's content web page: http://aoac.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/aoac/jaoac.
Micro Imaging Technology Adds Staphylococcus aureus to Its Catalog of Identifiers
SAN CLEMENTE, CA--(Marketwired - January 14, 2016) - Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. ("MIT") (MMTC) announced that its MIT 1000 System can now identify Staphylococcus aureus ("S. aureus"), a bacterial pathogen which can cause skin infections and commonly leads to abscess formation. S. aureus sometimes can also lead to pneumonia, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis. It is also a common food contaminant. "This is a significant step forward for the MIT 1000 technology," said Dr. David Haavig, Micro Imaging Technology's Chief Scientist. "The completion of this S. aureus Identifier, which gives the MIT 1000 System the ability to identify S. aureus, continues to demonstrate the sensitivity of this non-biological bacterial identification technology and adds to MIT's growing catalog of Identifiers. Adding S. aureus to our catalog of Identifier's, gets MIT one step closer to creating an Identifier for the superbug, Methicillin Resistant S. aureus also known as MRSA."
Completing this S. aureus Identifier is a significant milestone in the previously announced collaboration with the Northern Michigan University (NMU) Department of Biology. The goal of this collaboration is to rapidly and cost-effectively identify and differentiate the healthcare threats, S. aureus and MRSA, using the MIT 1000 System.
The MIT 1000 is a rapid, bacterial cell-based detection and identification system that can identify pathogenic bacteria, now including Staph aureus. In addition to this new Identifier, the MIT 1000 can also identify Listeria genus, Staphylococcusgenus, Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) and Enterococcus faecalis. All MIT 1000 System bacterial identification tests consist of a simple, chemical-free, very low-cost, one-minute sample preparation procedure and a two-minute average hands-off sample measurement.
About: Staphylococcus aureus.
S. aureus is a type of bacteria commonly found on the skin and hair as well as in the noses and throats of people and animals. These bacteria are present in up to 25 percent of healthy people and are even more common among those with skin, eye, nose, or throat infections. It is both a common clinical pathogen and a food contamination pathogen.
S. aureus can cause food poisoning when a food handler contaminates food and then the food is not properly refrigerated. Other sources of food contamination include the equipment and surfaces on which food is prepared. These bacteria multiply quickly at room temperature to produce a toxin that causes illness. Staphylococcus is killed by cooking and pasteurization.
S. aureus has long been recognized as one of the most important bacteria that cause disease in humans. It is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections such as abscesses (boils), furuncles, and cellulitis. Although most staph infections are not serious, S. aureus can cause serious infections such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia, or bone and joint infections.
About: Micro Imaging Technology, Inc.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three (3) minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually -- with food safety accounting for over $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by this year according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed "New" U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI's certification for the identification of Listeria.
You can find more information about our company and about Micro Identification Technologies™. Please visit our newly enhanced website at www.micro-identification.com.
This release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to dependence on suppliers; short product life cycles and reductions in unit selling prices; delays in development or shipment of new products; lack of market acceptance of our new products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; inability to expand our operations to support increased growth; and declining economic conditions, including a recession. These and other factors and risks associated with our business are discussed from time to time within our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reference MMTC: www.sec.gov.
Micro Imaging Technology Adds Enterococcus faecalis to Its Catalog of Identifiers
SAN CLEMENTE, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 9, 2015) - Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that its MIT 1000 System can now identify Enterococcus faecalis, a bacterial species found in human feces and in the intestines of many warm-blooded animals; occasionally found in urinary infections and in blood and heart lesions in cases of subacute endocarditis. E. faecalis can cause life-threatening infections in humans, especially in the hospital environment, where the naturally high levels of antibiotic resistance found in E. faecalis contribute to its pathogenicity. E. faecalis has been frequently found in root canal-treated teeth which are about nine times more likely to harbor the bacteria than cases of primary infections.
"This is a significant step forward for MIT 1000 technology," said Dr. David Haavig, Micro Imaging Technology's Chief Scientist. "The completion of this Identifier demonstrates the sensitivity of this non-biological bacterial identification technology. This new Identifier gives our MIT 1000 the ability to identify a species of the genus Enterococcus. Our other Identifiers give the MIT 1000 the ability to identify Salmonella Choleraesuis, as well as Listeria genus and Staphylococcus genus, where each genus consists of multiple species, some of which can be pathogenic."
Identifiers give the MIT 1000 System the ability to identify bacteria. All Identifiers, including this new E. faecalis Identifier, as well as all future Identifiers, use the same simple chemical-free, very low-cost, one-minute sample preparation procedure and two-minute average hands-off test with no modification or addition to the MIT 1000 System. The MIT 1000 is a rapid, bacterial cell-based detection and identification system that can identify pathogenic bacteria, now including E. faecalis, in three minutes (average).
Meanwhile, MIT is working on Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Listeria monocytogenes Identifiers.
About: Micro Imaging Technology, Inc.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three (3) minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually -- with food safety accounting for over $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by this year according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed "New" U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI's certification for the identification of Listeria.
You can find more information about our company and about Micro Identification Technologies™. Please visit our newly enhanced website at www.micro-identification.com.
This release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to dependence on suppliers; short product life cycles and reductions in unit selling prices; delays in development or shipment of new products; lack of market acceptance of our new products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; inability to expand our operations to support increased growth; and declining economic conditions, including a recession. These and other factors and risks associated with our business are discussed from time to time within our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reference MMTC: www.sec.gov.
MIT Announces Breakthrough in Pathogen Testing
SAN CLEMENTE, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 24, 2015) - Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that, through its collaboration with Northern Michigan University (NMU), it has developed a testing protocol that allows for detection of pathogen species from liquid cultures. Dr. Josh S. Sharp, Ph.D., assistant professor at the NMU Department of Biology in Marquette, Michigan, has been spearheading the collaboration between MIT and NMU since October of 2013. He is researching clinical applications of the MIT 1000 System, particularly the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). "Many of the current agar plate based identification methods require 16-24 hours of growth before identifications can be made," said Dr. Sharp. "Our work with MIT and its rapid laser-based identification system, the MIT 1000, has effectively eliminated the need for that time-consuming step and reduced the time required for pathogen sample preparation and identification to 4-6 hours given a sufficient starting inoculum. This new protocol allows for detection of Staphylococcus species from liquid cultures and has provided important groundwork to facilitate rapid enrichment of target bacteria for identification using the MIT 1000."
"The MIT 1000 has already proven to be one of, if not the fastest and least expensive method for pathogen testing out there," said Jeff Nunez, President of MIT. "This recent innovation in capturing target bacteria, eliminating the need for agar plate culturing, should prove to be a highly significant leap forward for the MIT 1000 in both clinical and food safety applications."
About: Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that has grown its reputation based on its award-winning leadership programs, cutting-edge technology initiatives and nationally recognized academic programs. The university's fastest growing academic areas are clinical science, biology, and the geographical and environmental sciences. Northern Michigan has a population of about 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 180 degree programs, including 18 graduate programs.
About: Micro Imaging Technology, Inc.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three (3) minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually -- with food safety accounting for over $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by this year according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed "New" U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI's certification for the identification of Listeria.
You can find more information about our company and about Micro Identification Technologies™. Please visit our newly enhanced website at www.micro-identification.com.
This release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to dependence on suppliers; short product life cycles and reductions in unit selling prices; delays in development or shipment of new products; lack of market acceptance of our new products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; inability to expand our operations to support increased growth; and declining economic conditions, including a recession. These and other factors and risks associated with our business are discussed from time to time within our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reference MMTC: www.sec.gov.
Perfect Score for MIT 1000 on Staphylococcus Single Blind Identification Study
SAN CLEMENTE, CA--(Marketwired - May 21, 2015) - Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced the result of a blind study conducted with its MIT 1000 System as part of a collaboration with Northern Michigan University (NMU) to identify and differentiate Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The study was conducted by the NMU lab of Josh Sharp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, in cooperation with the Microbiology lab at UP Health Systems in Marquette, Michigan to investigate whether the MIT 1000 System was able to detect S. aureus strains isolated from humans. In the single blind study, UP Health Systems provided 90 different previously tested, but unidentified cultures of bacteria to the Sharp lab to determine whether clinical isolates of S. aureus could be identified with the MIT 1000. Clinical isolates might have more variability in characteristics such as size, shape and pigment production compared to laboratory strains and, therefore, more challenging to identify. Out of those 90 samples, the MIT 1000 identified 30 as Staphylococcus species -- a 100% match to the hospital's independent test findings. Not only did the MIT 1000 accurately identify the 30 cultures of various Staphylococcus species, but the remaining 60 non-Staphylococcus cultures tested in the study were correctly ruled out as Staph species (no false positives).
As the Company previously announced, the goal of the collaboration with NMU is to rapidly and cost-effectively identify Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using the MIT 1000 System, a bacterial cell based identification system that can identify pathogenic bacteria in three minutes (average) at significant cost savings per test. "The data from the single blind study with UP Health Systems is encouraging and supports the concept that the MIT 1000 Staphylococcus species Identifier can differentiate Staphylococcus species based on light scattering patterns," noted Dr. Sharp. "Additionally, the bacteria strains in this study were human isolates, which may have varying characteristics, yet the MIT Identifier was robust enough to correctly recognize them as Staphylococcus."
Dr. David Haavig, MIT Chief Scientist, said, "We are extremely pleased with the results of this study and thank Dr. Sharp and his laboratory staff for their time and efforts in developing and conducting the study. We are also grateful to UP Health Systems for their valuable cooperation in providing the test cultures."
About: Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that has grown its reputation based on its award-winning leadership programs, cutting-edge technology initiatives and nationally recognized academic programs. The university's fastest growing academic areas are clinical science, biology, and the geographical and environmental sciences. Northern Michigan has a population of about 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 180 degree programs, including 18 graduate programs.
About: UP Health Systems - Marquette
UP Health Systems - Marquette is a federally-designated Regional Referral Center for Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP). The hospital provides the region's premier services in imaging, surgery and laboratory with primary and specialty care clinics spread throughout the region. A teaching hospital, UP Health Systems - Marquette has numerous affiliations with universities and community colleges throughout the state. It has a medical staff of more than 200 doctors caring for approximately 9,000 inpatients and more than 350,000 outpatients per year.
About: Micro Imaging Technology, Inc.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three (3) minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually -- with food safety accounting for over $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by this year according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed "New" U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI's certification for the identification of Listeria.
Micro Imaging Technology and Northern Michigan University to Investigate MIT 1000 Enhancement to Give More Rapid Pathogen Test Results
SAN CLEMENTE, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 29, 2014) - Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that it has funded the collaboration with Northern Michigan University (NMU) to investigate an alternative pathogen sample preparation method that could provide a specimen test turnaround time of 4 to 5 hours.
Dr. Amit Morey, an expert food microbiologist and a consultant to Micro Imaging Technology (MIT), proposed the new sample preparation method. He said, "This method will revolutionize the MIT 1000 System and significantly broaden its appeal in the clinical health, and food safety markets, as well as other pathogen testing arenas."
Dr. David Haavig, Chief Scientist of MIT, said, "Even though the MIT 1000 System is the fastest and least expensive bacterial pathogen test today, it still requires bacteria taken from culture plates. This new method will significantly simplify the bacterial isolation step and completely eliminate the culture plate growth time of 16-24 hours. If successful, this new method will reduce the entire specimen identification turnaround time to 4 to 5 hours."
Dr. Josh S. Sharp, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Northern Michigan University Department of Biology in Marquette, Michigan, has been spearheading the collaboration between MIT and NMU since October of 2013. He is researching clinical applications of the MIT 1000 System, particularly the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). "It has been shown that rapid identification of bacterial pathogens has the potential to improve successful patient outcomes," said Dr. Sharp. "However many of the current agar plate based identification methods require 16-24 hours of growth before identifications can be made," he continued. "To decrease the time for organism identification, the Sharp lab at NMU will be working in collaboration with MIT to develop a method to capture S. aureus bacteria directly from a specimen. Using the MIT 1000, this would decrease the total time for S. aureus identification to 4 to 5 hours. Our goal is to reduce the time from specimen to pathogen identification resulting in the ability to quickly implement proper antimicrobial therapy to patients."
"Preliminary results by the Sharp lab are very encouraging and very exciting," said Jeff Nunez, President of MIT. "If Dr. Sharp's efforts are successful, and we are highly confident they will be, this will be a major game changer since this new method can easily be extended to other significant clinical and food safety pathogens. Additionally, this method can be fully accomplished well within an eight hour lab technicians work shift. When this is combined with today's lowest bacteria pathogen per test cost, the MIT 1000 System should be the obvious choice for clinical and food safety diagnostic laboratories."
MIT 1000 has been certified by the AOAC for identification of Listeria spp. The Company recently announced that it had also added Staphylococcus (Staph) and Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) to its catalog of identifiers. It is continuing development of, a series of Salmonella Identifiers including Salmonella spp, S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium.
About: Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that has grown its reputation based on its award-winning leadership programs, cutting-edge technology initiatives and nationally recognized academic programs. The university's fastest growing academic areas are clinical science, biology, and the geographical and environmental sciences. Northern Michigan has a population of about 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 180 degree programs, including 18 graduate programs.
About: Micro Imaging Technology, Inc.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually -- with food safety accounting for more than $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by 2015 according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed "New" U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI's certification for the identification of Listeria.
This release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to dependence on suppliers; short product life cycles and reductions in unit selling prices; delays in development or shipment of new products; lack of market acceptance of our new products or services; inability to continue to develop competitive new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by major competitors; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees; inability to expand our operations to support increased growth; and declining economic conditions, including a recession. These and other factors and risks associated with our business are discussed from time to time within our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reference MMTC: www.sec.gov.
Micro Imaging Technology adds Salmonella Choleraesuis to its Catalog of Identifiers
San Clemente, CA. July 9, 2014....Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that its MIT 1000 System can now identify Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis. S. Choleraesuis is a non-typhoid strain that is a serious cause of foodborne infection. It also shows a higher predilection for causing bacteremia (bacteria in the blood) in humans by entering blood vessels through the stomach wall.
“This is significant step forward for MIT 1000 technology,” said Dr. David Haavig, Micro Imaging Technology’s Chief Scientist. “The completion of this Identifier demonstrates the sensitivity of this non-biological bacterial identification technology. This new Identifier gives our MIT 1000 the ability to identify a serotype of the species Salmonella enterica. A serotype is a distinct variation within a species that has cell surface antigens that differ from other serotypes of the same species; that is a very small difference. Our other Identifiers give the MIT 1000 the ability to identify Listeria genus and Staphylococcus genus where each genus consists of multiple species, some of which can be pathogenic.”
Identifiers give the MIT 1000 System the ability to identify bacteria. All Identifiers, including this new S. Choleraesuis Identifier as well as all future Identifiers, use the same simple chemical-free, very low-cost, one-minute sample preparation procedure and two-minute average hands-off test with no modification or addition to the MIT 1000 System.
The S. Choleraesuis Identifier is available now and will soon undergo AOAC Certification. The MIT 1000 is a rapid, bacterial cell-based detection and identification system that can identify pathogenic bacteria, now including Salmonella Choleraesuis, in three minutes (average). At a cost of $4.00 per test, the MIT 1000 is less than half the industries average cost of a pathogen test.
Meanwhile, MIT is working on a series of Salmonella Identifiers including the common food pathogens S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium.
ABOUT: SALMONELLA.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year, Salmonella is estimated to cause about 1.2 million illnesses in the United States, with about 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection.
ABOUT: MICRO IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually – with food safety accounting for more than $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by 2015 according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed “New” U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent. In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party
evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI’s certification for the identification of Listeria. You can find more information about our company and about Micro Identification TechnologiesTM. Please visit our newly enhanced website at www.micro-identification.com.
MIT AND N. Michigan University to investigate MIT 1000 Enhancement to give more rapid Pathogen Test Results
San Clemente, CA. July 29, 2014....Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that it has funded the collaboration with Northern Michigan University (NMU) to investigate an alternative pathogen sample preparation method that could provide a specimen test turnaround time of 4 to 5 hours.
Dr. Amit Morey, an expert food microbiologist and a consultant to Micro Imaging Technology (MIT), proposed the new sample preparation method. He said, “This method will revolutionize the MIT 1000 System and significantly broaden its appeal in the clinical health, and food safety markets, as well as other pathogen testing arenas.”
Dr. David Haavig, Chief Scientist of MIT, said, “Even though the MIT 1000 System is the fastest and least expensive bacterial pathogen test today, it still requires bacteria taken from culture plates. This new method will significantly simplify the bacterial isolation step and completely eliminate the culture plate growth time of 16-24 hours. If successful, this new method will reduce the entire specimen identification turnaround time to 4 to 5 hours.”
Dr. Josh S. Sharp, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Northern Michigan University Department of Biology in Marquette, Michigan, has been spearheading the collaboration between MIT and NMU since October of 2013. He is researching clinical applications of the MIT 1000 System, particularly the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). “It has been shown that rapid identification of bacterial pathogens has the potential to improve successful patient outcomes,” said Dr. Sharp. “However many of the current agar plate based identification methods require 16-24 hours of growth before identifications can be made,” he continued. “To decrease the time for organism identification, the Sharp lab at NMU will be working in collaboration with MIT to develop a method to capture S. aureus bacteria directly from a specimen. Using the MIT 1000, this would decrease the total time for S. aureus identification to 4 to 5 hours. Our goal is to reduce the time from specimen to pathogen identification resulting in the ability to quickly implement proper antimicrobial therapy to patients.”
“Preliminary results by the Sharp lab are very encouraging and very exciting,” said Jeff Nunez, President of MIT. “If Dr. Sharp’s efforts are successful, and we are highly confident they will be, this will be a major game changer since this new method can easily be extended to other significant clinical and food safety pathogens. Additionally, this method can be fully accomplished well within an eight hour lab technicians work shift. When this is combined with today’s lowest bacteria pathogen per test cost, the MIT 1000 System should be the obvious choice for clinical and food safety diagnostic laboratories.”
MIT 1000 has been certified by the AOAC for identification of Listeria spp. The Company recently announced that it had also added Staphylococcus (Staph) and Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) to its catalog of identifiers. It is continuing development of, a series of Salmonella Identifiers including Salmonella spp, S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium.
ABOUT: NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, is a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that has grown its reputation based on its award-winning leadership programs, cutting-edge technology initiatives and nationally recognized academic programs. The university's fastest growing academic areas are clinical science, biology, and the geographical and environmental sciences. Northern Michigan has a population of about 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 180 degree programs, including 18 graduate programs.
ABOUT: MICRO IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. is a California-based public company that is also registered to do business under the name Micro Identification Technologies. MIT has developed and patented the MIT 1000, a stand-alone, rapid, optically-based, software driven system that can identify pathogenic bacteria and complete an identification test, after culturing, in three minutes (average) at the lowest cost per test when compared to any other conventional method. It does not rely on chemical or biological agents, conventional processing, fluorescent tags, gas chromatography or DNA analysis. The process requires only clean filtered water and a sample of the unknown bacteria. Revenues for all rapid testing methods exceed $5 billion annually – with food safety accounting for more than $3.5 billion, which is expected to surpass $4.7 billion by 2015 according to BCC Research. In addition, the recently passed “New” U.S. Food Safety Bill is expected to further accelerate the current annual growth rate of 6.6 percent.
In June 2009, the AOAC Research Institute (AOAC RI) awarded the Company Performance Tested Methods SM (PTM) certification for the rapid identification of Listeria. The AOAC RI provides an independent third party evaluation and expert reviews of methods and will award PTM certification to methods that demonstrate performance levels equivalent or better than other certified bacteria identifying methods. The MIT System underwent hundreds of individual tests, including ruggedness and accuracy, to earn AOAC RI’s certification for the identification of Listeria.
You can find more information about our company and about Micro Identification TechnologiesTM. Please visit our newly enhanced website at www.micro-identification.com.
Micro Imaging Technology Adds Staph Bacteria to it's Catalog of Identifiers
San Clemente, CA. December 31, 2013....Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. (OTCQB: MMTC) announced that its MIT 1000 System can now identify the potentially life-threatening bacteria Staphylococcus. Staph is one of the five most common causes of infections after injury or surgery and can lead to very serious complications with the lung (pneumonia), brain (meningitis), bone (osteopmyelitis), heart (endorcarditis), and blood (bacteremia and septicemia). It is also an important food pathogen. “This is a tremendous step forward for both our technology and our Company,” stated Jeff Nunez, MIT’s President and CEO. “We have not only added another Identifier to our catalog, but this opens the door for the MIT 1000 Technology to enter the clinical pathogen detection and identification arena. The Identifier is available now and will soon undergo AOAC certification,” he continued. Staph can also be contracted through food contamination, as recently reminded by the USDA’s announcement involving the recall of dried sausage products in San Jose, California1. The MIT 1000 is a rapid, bacterial cell-based detection and identification system that can identify pathogenic bacteria, now including Staph, in three minutes (average) at half the cost of the industry average for pathogen tests.
In October 2013, the Company announced that it is collaborating with the Northern Michigan University (NMU) Department of Biology to identify and differentiate Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and the “superbug,” Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The goal of this strategic research with NMU is to rapidly and cost-effectively identify these two particular healthcare threats using the MIT 1000 System. Staph infections can range from mild skin problems to potentially fatal conditions if the bacteria invade deeper into the body. Most can be easily treated, however, some Staphs are drug-resistant. The faster the responsible disease causing bacteria is identified, the faster the appropriate treatment can begin. This is the driving goal behind the NMU/MIT collaboration using the MIT 1000 to differentiate between the common S. aureus and MRSA. At this stage, the collaboration involves scientists from MIT and NMU gathering preliminary data and developing collaborative research proposals seeking funding in support of continued research.
Dr. Josh S. Sharp, assistant professor at NMU’s Department of Biology, is directing the NMU research on clinical applications of the MIT 1000. “Being able to quickly identify if a patient has an S. aureus infection, and whether or not that S. aureus is MRSA, a strain of S. aureus resistant to certain antibiotics, would be extremely useful in dictating the proper course of treatment for that patient, and ultimately, increase the likelihood of a successful patient outcome,” Sharp said.
Micro Imaging Technology’s Chief Scientist, Dr. David Haavig, was instrumental in developing the MIT 1000 and is the program director of the effort and will lead MIT’s team in the collaboration. “This Staph Identifier is a key addition,” he said. “This Staphylococcus Identifier will simplify and speed the creation of our upcoming S. aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and MRSA Identifiers.” The Staphylococcus Identifier and candidate S. aureus and S. epidermidis Identifiers and an MIT 1000 System will be delivered to Professor Sharp within the next few weeks, then he with his graduate and undergraduate students and we at MIT will begin the preliminary stage of our MRSA collaboration. Meanwhile, MIT is working on a series of Salmonella Identifiers including the common food pathogens S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium.
Recent Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak Illustrates USDA Food Safety Regime
By Meghan Cloud and James Neale
Seven unusually virulent and antibiotic resistant strains of Salmonella Heidelberg have been linked to an outbreak that—as of October 15—has affected 317 people in 20 states. Those ill are suffering an exceptionally high 42% hospitalization rate. By October 7, epidemiologists traced the outbreak to three Foster Farms chicken plants. Although it was announced recently that Foster Farms had avoided the harshest of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s enforcement measures—the suspension of Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspections—by making immediate changes to its manufacturing practices, it has thus far elected not to recall its products.
Salmonella in uncooked poultry is not technically an adulterant under USDA regulations. Nor, technically speaking, does Foster Farms have any legal obligation to recall its chicken. On the other hand, individuals who violate certain provisions of the Poultry Products Inspection Act can be charged with felonies, as can their employers. And USDA has other effective tools with which to encourage—if not compel—companies to act in what the agency believes to be consumers’ best interests. FSIS can seize products or stop entire production lines. If the deficiencies are more serious, FSIS agents can withhold USDA inspection marks, preventing the sale of affected goods. In the most extreme cases, such as when a poultry processor has failed to comply with Salmonella-related regulations, USDA can suspend inspections altogether. Without inspection, a USDA-regulated facility cannot legally produce products for human consumption. Although threatened here, corrective actions implemented by Foster Farms appear to have convinced the USDA to avoid taking any of these actions. USDA did issue a Public Health Notice on October 7, associating the outbreak with Foster Farms, advising consumers to avoid three particular production codes and reminding the public of the importance of safe handling instructions.
Given USDA’s considerable leverage, the decision to recall a product may not be voluntary in the strictest sense. When faced with a situation like Foster Farms’, however, companies should remember that a well-handled recall can both protect the public health and burnish the corporate image. Effective recalls are decisive and emphatic—despite immense time constraints and a dearth of information. Press releases and other communications are straightforward and accurate. Special attention is given to establishing the scope of the recall; if it is initially too narrow, there is a risk of later expansion, more injured consumers and civil complaints, and an elongated media cycle. If the scope is too broad, wholesome product will be withdrawn from the market at great and unnecessary expense.
Successful recalls are most often achieved by companies that have comprehensive recall plans and extensive practice implementing them. As of May 8, 2013, all meat and poultry producers are required to maintain written recall procedures. Those procedures must specify not only how recall decisions will be made, but also the procedures to be followed in the event of a recall. Foster Farms could not possibly have predicted all of the variables it now faces. Just as certainly, more extensive preparation would have assisted the company.