A Benchtop Automated Sputum-to-Genotype System Using a Lab-on-a-Film Assembly for Detection of Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Automated genotyping of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) directly from sputum is challenging for three primary reasons. First, the sample matrix, sputum, is highly viscous and heterogeneous, posing a challenge for sample processing. Second, acid-fast MTB bacilli are difficult to lyse. And third, there are hundreds of MTB mutations that confer drug resistance. An additional constraint is that MTB is most prevalent where test...