|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping the
Air Clean and Safe—An Anthrax Smoke Detector
Public Safety
Originating Technology/ NASA Contribution
Scientists at work in the Planetary Protection division
at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) sterilize
everything before blasting it to the Red Planet. They
take great pains to ensure that all spacecraft are
void of bacterial life, especially the microscopic
bacteria that can live hundreds of years in their spore
states. No one is quite sure what Earthly germs would
do on Mars, but scientists agree that it is safest
to keep the Martian terrain as undisturbed as possible.
Errant Earth germs would also render useless the instruments
placed on exploration rovers to look for signs of life,
as the life that they registered would be life that
came with them from Earth.
A team at JPL, headed by Dr. Adrian Ponce, developed
a bacterial spore-detection system that uses a simple
and robust chemical reaction that visually alerts Planetary
Protection crews. It is a simple air filter that traps
micron-sized bacterial spores and then submits them
to the chemical reaction. When the solution is then
viewed under an ultraviolet light, the mixture will
glow green if it is contaminated by bacteria. Scientists
can then return to the scrubbing and cleaning stages
of the sterilization process to remove these harmful
bacteria.
The detection system is the space-bound equivalent
of having your hands checked for cleanliness before
being allowed to the table; and although intended to
keep terrestrial germs from space, this technology
has awesome applications here on Mother Earth. The
bacterial spore-detection unit can recognize anthrax
and other harmful, spore-forming bacteria and alert
people of the impending danger.
|
Universal
Detection Technology’s bacterial spore detection
system, the BSM-2000, is simple and robust,
prerequisites for continuous monitoring of
the air. |
As evidenced in the anthrax mailings of fall 2001 in
the United States, the first sign of anthrax exposure
was when people experienced flu-like symptoms, which
unfortunately, can take as much as a week to develop
after contamination. Anthrax cost 5 people their lives
and infected 19 others; and the threat of bioterrorism
became a routine concern, with new threats popping
up nearly everyday. The attacks threatened the safety
that so many Americans took for granted, as the very
air that people breathed became suspect. Any building
with a circulation system, where large groups congregate,
was now a potential target.
Ponce recognized a need for the application of his
device and the timely terrestrial uses for this technology.
“What we needed,” he said, “was an automated air monitor
that could warn us of an anthrax attack, much like
a smoke detector warns us of a fire. This is exactly
what we developed at JPL.”
Partnership
Realizing the enormous potential that the so-called
anthrax “smoke” detector (ASD) held, NASA determined
that the JPL venture could benefit from a commercial
partner to speed this life-saving tool to market, where
it could best help people.
The connection happened at a meeting on bioterrorism,
hosted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where
Greg Bearman, a scientist at JPL who worked with Ponce
on the bacteria-testing devices and is active in JPL’s
Technology Transfer Program, happened to be seated
next to Jacques Tizabi, president and CEO of Universal
Detection Technology (UDT). In the air-sampling market
for over 30 years, UDT found previous success with
its monitors for ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide,
and other pollutants. After a brief conversation, it
was clear that the ASD was a perfect fit for the plans
UDT had to improve its line of detection devices.
In August 2002, just months after the anthrax attacks
shook the country, UDT partnered with JPL through NASA’s
Innovative Partnerships Program; and through the California
Institute of Technology, it gained exclusive rights
to option the ASD for worldwide use. This
agreement also enabled UDT to leverage the expertise
of JPL researchers, as they developed their bacterial
spore-detection technology for integration into UDT’s
bioterrorism-detection device, and thus, significantly
accelerated the development and deployment of UDT’s
bacterial spore monitor, the BSM-2000.
Ponce saw great potential for this commercialization
of NASA technology. He commented, “I see this technology
being used in any large public space, possibly working
in concert with other detection technologies to provide
complete coverage of potential attacks with pathogens.”
Product Outcome
Since UDT has the exclusive option on all intellectual
property related to the deveopment of the ASD, it has
made great strides to get the BSM-2000 on the market.
|
The
BSM-2000 is portable. The average unit is just
about the size of a computer terminal and weighs
less than 50 pounds. |
The unit operates on fairly simple principles. It combines
a bioaerosol capture device with a simple analysis
method, a robust chemical test for bacterial spores.
Airborne particles are drawn to the machine through
a fan, captured, and then tested for weaponized anthrax.
In addition to its simplicity, the unit has a host
of other benefits. It is a long-term solution that
runs continuously with little maintenance. It requires
very little in the way of operating costs, and has
a high reliability factor, with low susceptibility
to false alarms.
It is portable. The average unit is just about the
size of a computer terminal and weighs less than 50
pounds. The unit consists of an air sampler, a continuous
glass fiber tape for capturing spores, a motorized heating element to lyse spores,
a syringe pump to deliver the reagent, and a spectrometer to detect luminescence.
UDT has already sold these units around the world. Sartec Saras Technologie is
its exclusive Italian distributor. Quantum Automation handles distribution for
Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. On the home front, Securewrap is making plans
to install the monitor at its facility at the Miami International Airport, one
of the busiest in the country and a major hub of international cargo shipments.
UDT is working with major hotels, Las Vegas casinos, and convention centers.
The company is also in discussions with the U.S. State Department to get the
BSM-2000 into mail rooms at embassies overseas and has presented the technology
to the United States Postal Service. The unit also has great potential for use
in train stations, shopping malls, sports arenas, and any place where large groups
of people gather.
Soon, the units will be spread all over the world and working as an effective
first step in the detection of biological attacks. If the monitor is activated,
and there is an anthrax attack, authorities will know within minutes, not days,
and lives will doubtless be saved. Authorities can prevent the sicknesses, deaths,
and disasters, rather than having to respond to them.
|
|
|
|