Design and Development of an Automatic Sequential Sputum Sample Staining System to Improve Efficiency in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Developing Countries

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease and one of the main causes of mortality worldwide. This disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis and almost affects always the lungs. It transmitted from person to person by air and, although it is curable, if is not detected and treated in time, it can be fatal. To detect this disease, there are several types of methods, the largest used in the world being the smear microscopy. This is because this method characterized by being simple and quick to detect the presence of the bacillus by microscopic evaluation. This method consists of dyeing the tubercle bacilli using an appropriate technique. This may be possible because mycobacteria are acid-fast bacilli (BAAR), which means that they are able to capture fuchsine or auramine in their wall, and retain it even with the action of bleaches. The appropriate technique for this process is the coloring of Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN). The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) has a sample preparation prototype that makes use of the ZN staining method, which has worked, but requires a redesign to improve their performance. This paper, with the financing of the Vice-Rector for Research of the PUCP, deals on the equipment that performs the staining automatically for seven samples.