Hospital device aimed at detecting bioterrorism agents

The device is expected to be used in emergency rooms in the event of a bioterrorism incident.

‘This is an unmet need for the nation’s biodefence program,’ said Anup Singh, senior manager for Sandia’s biological science and technology group. ‘A point-of-care device does not exist.’

Sandia’s work is funded by a recent grant worth nearly $4m over four years from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health.

Sandia’s biosciences and microfluidics program areas have successfully worked on notable projects that include MicroChemLab, a lab-on-a-chip technology developed in the early 1990s; plus the so-called saliva device, an instrument designed primarily to assesses dental disease; and a follow-up technology, RapiDx, developed in the early-to-mid 2000s.

‘This will take things to the next level,’ said Singh in a statement. In addition to the broader suite of toxins and bacterial agents that the device would test for, the project includes comprehensive testing with animal (mouse) samples.