Bruker has announced FDA clearance for its MALDI Biotyper CA System, marking a significant advancement in clinical microbial identification capabilities.
The clearance includes the MBT Compass HT CA software and MBT FAST Shuttle US IVD (Claim 7), as well as a major expansion of the FDA-cleared reference library (Claim 8), now encompassing 549 clinically validated microbial species across Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, anaerobes and yeasts.
The MALDI Biotyper CA System is a mass spectrometry-based platform that uses MALDI-TOF technology for rapid identification of microorganisms following culture from human specimens, either from isolated colonies or positively flagged blood cultures. With the newly cleared MBT Compass HT CA software, laboratories benefit from enhanced performance, including parallel data processing, improved user management, and support for 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. It also features IDealTune, an automated tuning function that maintains optimal system performance by continuously monitoring the US IVD Bacterial Test Standard quality control results. This reduces the need for manual tune-ups and ensures consistent diagnostic reliability over extended periods.
The MBT FAST Shuttle US IVD (pictured) enables accelerated drying of droplets, including MALDI matrix, hence significantly reducing sample preparation time as compared to room temperature drying. In addition to speed, it also standardizes sample preparation, resulting in reproducible matrix crystallisation - a critical factor in MALDI-TOF analysis. This consistency further improves sample preparation quality which can contribute to more reliable and accurate identification results.
The FDA-cleared reference library now includes reference spectra of 549 clinically validated microbial species in 437 groups, covering Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, anaerobes, and yeasts. Additionally, the system includes over 3,400 non-clinically validated species, which are clearly marked in reports to guide alternate identification methods. These results are not transmitted to the laboratory information system, ensuring clarity and compliance in reporting.
“This FDA clearance represents a major step forward in our mission to support clinical laboratories with faster and more reliable microbial identification,” said Carla Schneider, Director, Commercial Operations – Americas, Bruker Microbiology & Infection Diagnostics (BMID). “The MBT Compass HT CA software and MBT FAST Shuttle US IVD not only streamline workflows and improve operational efficiency, but also open the door for future claims and innovations. The expanded reference library underscores our commitment to precision diagnostics and empowers laboratories to deliver high-confidence results across an even wider range of microbial species, ultimately supporting better-informed clinical decisions and improving patient care.”