Delve Detect Enables Neurologists to Treat CNS Infections When Conventional Testing Fails
Delve Bio, a UCSF spin-out and pioneer in metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for infectious diseases, announced data underscoring the clinical impact of mNGS using Delve Detect to identify pathogens and enable management changes in serious central nervous system (CNS) infections. The data will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2026 Annual Meeting in Chicago.
CNS infections that can cause encephalitis, ventriculitis and brain abscess are among the most time-sensitive diagnostic challenges in neurology. When standard testing returns negative or inconclusive results in a patient whose clinical picture suggests infection, patients and clinicians face a diagnostic odyssey with worse outcomes and very high healthcare costs,” said Brad Murray, chief executive officer of Delve Bio. “Whether it’s a toddler with worsening encephalitis or an adult with a culture-negative brain abscess, Delve Detect continues to demonstrate its ability to improve outcomes for these patients.
Delve Detect gives clinicians a comprehensive view of the clinically actionable pathogens in cerebrospinal fluid, beyond what current standard-of-care testing can provide,” continued Steve Miller, M.D., Ph.D., study author and chief medical officer of Delve Bio. “For neurologists managing critically ill patients, starting with comprehensive testing can be the difference between continued trial-and-error therapy and a targeted treatment plan at a time when every minute counts for the patient.
The data to be presented at AAN include:
Head-to-Head Comparison Demonstrates Broader Diagnostic Reach: In a retrospective concordance study conducted with the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories, researchers compared Delve Detect to a widely used syndromic panel for CNS infections. Delve Detect demonstrated strong concordance with panel testing while also identifying additional organisms, including pathogens the panel was designed to detect but missed, as well as co-infections panel testing cannot identify.
Enabling Appropriate Therapy in a Critically Ill Toddler: Investigators from Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and Delve Bio describe a case of a previously healthy toddler who presented with acute neurological symptoms. Initial CSF testing, including a multiplex syndromic panel were negative for suspected herpes simplex virus (HSV). Clinicians discontinued antiviral therapy and switched to treatment for autoimmune encephalitis. The patient’s condition continued to worsen before Delve Detect CSF identified HSV-1 enabling appropriate antiviral therapy and significant clinical improvement. Poster 4171, to be presented at P2: Infectious Disease: Child Neurology on Sunday, April 19, from 11:45 AM–12:45 PM CT.
A New Use Case in Ventriculitis and Brain Abscess: A multicenter case series including investigators from Cleveland Clinic, University of Miami, WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, among others, found Delve Detect provided an accurate diagnosis among several patients with ventriculitis or brain abscess who had negative culture and multiplex PCR results after receiving empiric antimicrobials. Delve Detect was able to identify the infectious pathogen in each case, enabling clinicians to make appropriate treatment decisions while sparing the patient a brain biopsy. Oral Presentation 5129, to be presented at S22: Neuroinfectious Disease: Basic Sciences on Tuesday, April 21, at 2:36 PM CT.
Delve Detect is Delve Bio’s flagship testing service, providing comprehensive test results the day after sample receipt and access to Delve’s Clinical Microbial Sequencing Board, an on-call team of infectious disease experts to review results in clinical context. Delve Detect was built on technology developed at UCSF, which is exclusively licensed to Delve Bio.
About Delve Bio, Inc.
Delve Bio is a metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) company that empowers laboratories and clinicians with the insights they need to confidently diagnose routine and rare infectious diseases, thereby minimizing the impact of harmful pathogens on humanity. By leveraging its unbiased, pathogen-agnostic mNGS platform, Delve Bio is able to identify a wide range of pathogens with a single test. Founded by world leaders in genomics and infectious disease Drs. Charles Chiu, Joe DeRisi, Michael Wilson, Pardis Sabeti, and Matthew Meyerson, the company is backed by top institutional investors including Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, Section 32, and GV, along with leading individual investors.
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