Sepsis, a dysregulated immune response brought on by an infection, is one of the leading causes of death, globally. Patient-specific treatment can be developed using antimicrobial susceptibility testing; however, this typically takes two to three days owing to the need for a blood culture sample, which requires physicians to use a broad-spectrum of antibiotics in the meantime.

Finding ways to reduce the turnaround time associated with antimicrobial susceptibility testing is crucial to decreasing the risk of death from sepsis and reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics.