Analyzing and using motility kinematics of microorganisms

Abstract

Among other things, motility of at least one individual microorganism or a change in motility of at least one individual microorganism or both is or are characterized. The characterized motility or change in motility is used to detect the presence or count of the at least one individual microorganism, or determine the identity of a species or strain of the at least one individual microorganism, or determine a susceptibility of the at least one individual microorganism to one or more antibiotics or other antimicrobials.

1 . A method comprising:
 subjecting a bodily sample of a human or an animal to one or more antibiotics, the bodily sample containing one or more individual microorganisms of one or more strains;   by an imaging device, capturing one or more images of the sample, including the one or more individual microorganisms of one or more strains;   analyzing, for the one or more individual microorganisms of one or more strains, motion by the one or more individual microorganisms of one or more strains, the analyzing being based on the one or more captured images of the sample;   automatically by computer, generating kinematics data for the one or more individual microorganisms of one or more strains based on the analyzed motion; and   applying mathematical processing to the generated kinematics data to determine at least one of a presence, identity, or count of individual microorganisms of one or more strains, or a susceptibility to the one or more antibiotics of the one or more strains of microorganisms.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  in which the applying of the mathematical processing to the generated kinematics data comprises applying stored criteria. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  in which the applying of the mathematical processing to the generated kinematics data comprises using stored other data. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  in which the stored other data comprise information about quantitative properties of motion of individual microorganisms of one or more strains. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  in which the quantitative properties comprise statistical values for the quantitative properties for a population of individual microorganisms. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  in which the statistical values comprise values determined by applying mathematical processes. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  in which the mathematical processes comprise computing mean values. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4  in which the quantitative properties comprise at least one of: trajectory, shape of trajectory, speed, acceleration, mean square displacement, swimming direction, rate of turning, angle of turning, temporal sequence of turning angles, diffusivity, net-to-gross-displacement ratio, curvature, concentration of microorganisms that exhibit motion, a ratio of a number of microorganisms that exhibit motion to a number of microorganisms that do not exhibit motion. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4  in which the quantitative properties comprise a number of microorganisms that exhibit motion. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4  in which the quantitative properties comprise a size of microorganisms that exhibit motion. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  in which the mathematical processes determine a distribution of one or more quantitative properties of motion of individual microorganisms of one or more strains. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  in which the mathematical processes determine information obtained from a distribution of one or more quantitative properties of motion of individual microorganisms of one or more strains. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  in which the quantitative properties comprise at least one of: trajectory, shape of trajectory, speed, acceleration, mean square displacement, swimming direction, rate of turning, angle of turning, temporal sequence of turning angles, diffusivity, net-to-gross-displacement ratio, curvature concentration of microorganisms that exhibit motion, a ratio of a number of microorganisms that exhibit motion to a number of microorganisms that do not exhibit motion. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  in which the quantitative properties comprise a number of microorganisms that exhibit motion. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  in which the quantitative properties comprise a size of microorganisms that exhibit motion. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  in which the mathematical processes determine comparisons of kinematics data for two different conditions. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  in which the two different conditions comprise two different antibiotic concentrations. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  in which one of the antibiotic concentrations comprises an absence of antibiotic. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  in which the two different conditions comprise two different time points. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  in which one of the time points is an earlier time point.