Time-consuming microbiological tests, repetitive diagnostic processes that excessively engage specialists and consume time that could be spent on more complex tasks that actually require expert knowledge – these are the problems that constantly affect the modern pharmaceutical industry. TKM Projekt, recognizing these challenges and the resulting increasingly urgent need to implement innovative solutions, has developed the Bactomatic device for automating standard microbiological tests.
This is a project that can significantly revolutionize the current way of working in this area, significantly shortening the diagnostic time and minimizing the risk of costly errors.
Automatic microbiological control – a modern approach to safety
Bactomatic is one of the flagship products of TKM Projekt – a Polish company that has been operating on the market for over 20 years, specializing in designing and implementing modern solutions for industry. This innovative device is widely used in the analysis of microbiological purity of products, enabling early detection of microbial growth and quantitative and qualitative assessment of microbial colonies growing on solid media.
Key elements of Bactomatic technology
The effectiveness of the Bactomatic device is determined by a number of innovative functions. It is worth paying attention primarily to the option of monitoring the kinetics of colony growth, which is possible thanks to the hybrid analysis of RGB photos and 3D scanning used in the device. In practice, this has a direct impact on a significantly shorter time to detect colonies. Precise imaging also means that – in the event of detection of monitored microorganisms or exceeding the quantitative colony – the microbiologist immediately receives an appropriate report.
Bactomatic has also been equipped with an innovative vision system designed for hourly measurement of microbial growth, the analysis of which is harnessed by artificial intelligence. AI algorithms also allow for very precise analyses, which are available in real time. In turn, thanks to the built-in filtration and airflow system, the device guarantees high cleanliness of the chamber, eliminating the risk of contamination during the sample imaging process.
An important advantage of the Bactomatic device is also the intuitive interface and fully integrated application enabling remote supervision of the culture. This makes system implementation easy and diagnostic decisions can be made in real time.
The importance of microbiological safety in the pharmaceutical industry
Ensuring production safety is a priority in the pharmaceutical industry. Bactomatic, by enabling the automation of routine and mass microbiological analyses, contributes to increasing the safety of the entire process. The device meets European standards and norms in the field of safety and environmental protection, obtaining certificates of compliance with CE, FCC, RoHS, thus proving the highest care for production quality and biological purity.
Bactomatic’s role in ensuring compliance with regulations
Bactomatic enables automatic counting of grown microbial colonies with an accuracy of at least 95%. The device also determines their species/genus, and the images are analyzed using convolutional neural networks, which allows for precise localization and classification of colonies at a very early stage of growth. Bactomatic’s high efficiency is also due to the use of modern technology – the device is based on an artificial intelligence model based on advanced Cascade R-CNN and PointPillars algorithms.
The Bactomatic project was also designed with great attention to the issue of environmental friendliness. The device allows for the detection of microorganisms even from 6 hours of incubation, thanks to which it allows for faster stopping of production and maximum reduction of losses in production disposal. This fact has a direct impact on reducing the burden on the environment from the disposal of contaminated products.
Practical applications of Bactomatic – what can be gained?
The basic application of Bactomatic and the goal that guided the creators of this innovative device is to test the microbiological purity of the product and early detection of growth. Thanks to the technology used, it is also possible to recognize microorganisms based on many different data sources, such as photos or point clouds.
It is worth noting that the possibilities offered by the Bactomatic device go far beyond the pharmaceutical industry. This innovative project can also be adapted to other sectors, such as the food or cosmetics industry. Research and medical laboratories, as well as sanitary and epidemiological services, can also benefit from this solution.
