Academic Journal
Capturing colonial morphology: Description of simple digital image capture devices to aid in the identification of pathogens in clinical microbiology.
| Title: | Capturing colonial morphology: Description of simple digital image capture devices to aid in the identification of pathogens in clinical microbiology. |
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| Authors: | Moore JE; School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM), Queen's University, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; Laboratory for Disinfection and Pathogen Elimination Studies, Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Belfast City Hospital, Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AD, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Electronic address: j.moore@qub.ac.uk., Millar BC; School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM), Queen's University, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; Laboratory for Disinfection and Pathogen Elimination Studies, Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Belfast City Hospital, Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AD, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. |
| Source: | Journal of microbiological methods [J Microbiol Methods] 2026 Jul; Vol. 246, pp. 107547. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 13. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Biomedical Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8306883 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1872-8359 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01677012 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Microbiol Methods Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, The Netherlands : Elsevier Biomedical, c1983- |
| MeSH Terms: | Microscopy*/methods , Microscopy*/instrumentation , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted*/methods , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted*/instrumentation , Bacteria*/isolation & purification , Bacteria*/cytology, Enterococcus faecalis/isolation & purification ; Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/isolation & purification ; Bacillus subtilis/isolation & purification ; Salmonella/isolation & purification ; Humans |
| Abstract: | Recent advances in electronics with digital image capture has been facilitated, combining high resolution complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, with adjustable LED and polarised lighting, allowing the capture of incoming light, where photons are converted to electrical charge and this signal is translated into digital data that can be visualised on LED screens. The technological output has been the evolution of handheld digital microscopes utilising digital imaging and analysis software. Various devices are now available commercially which may have an application in routine clinical microbiology. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to compare two devices, namely a 4 K wifi portable digital microscope with a nanozoom Macro Zoom CPL lens, to capture colonial morphologies, with a collection of clinical pathogens. Both devices captured colonial morphologies of five organisms, including Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella Nottingham and Staphylococcus aureus. Images of colonial morphologies were captured on freshly cultured (24-h) agar plates and were of high resolution and quality. In terms of application into clinical microbiology of these technologies, the capability to capture high quality images from culture plates allows the documentation of unusual colony morphologies, record rare pathogens and allows remote review when disputing scientific interpretations (e.g. a disputed antibiotic susceptibility test result). These digital image capture methods are simple, inexpensive, versatile and widely adaptable and require minimum preparation, handling and processing. These devices now sit between optical glass hand lenses and research-grade microscopes, thereby filling an important and crucial niche in clinical microbiology, which has largely been underdeveloped to date. Renewed employment of such apparatus will encourage the routine photographing of colonial morphologies of clinical isolates for evidence, posterity and future work/studies involving AI networks. (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial, financial or other relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Colonial morphology; Image capture; Photograph; Photography |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260514 Date Completed: 20260612 Latest Revision: 20260612 |
| Update Code: | 20260613 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.mimet.2026.107547 |
| PMID: | 42134425 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1872-8359 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.mimet.2026.107547 |