Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists are working to help the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) better predict epidemics and regional disease outbreaks. The program called the “24 Month Challenge” is a multi-agency program to identify and develop diagnostic devices needed to effectively do biosurveillance. Within the “24 Month Challenge” program, the NRL team has validated and verified the capabilities of multiple diagnostic devices in order to select technologies to use across the globe.
In the first phase of the program, the team with support from the contracting division solicited proposals for diagnostic technologies able to differentiate the causative agent of febrile illness and send the diagnostic data to the cloud database.
In total thirteen diagnostic technologies were evaluated by three laboratories with the NRL team examining six technologies that ranged in complexity from PCR thermocyclers to paper-based diagnostics.
Evaluations done over the past year has reduced the original list to four diagnostic technologies enabling the team to engage three companies with cooperative research agreements that would enable companies to develop prototype technologies.
So far, NRL has developed a relationship with InBIOS International, Inc. and ChemBio Diagnostics Systems Inc. companies that make lateral flow immunoassay strips or LFIs. The best known example of an LFI is the home pregnancy test.
The companies were then challenged to make a new type of LFI capable of detecting the causative agents for malaria, dengue fever, melioidosis, and the plague using only a blood sample obtained from a finger prick.
Navy researchers performed tests on almost 2300 LFIs and were able in a six week period to obtain an excellent sense of how these LFIs could perform and if they would work in the heat and humidity of the tropics.
However, the LFI tests only met half of the 24 Month Challenge’s requirements. NRL has also partnered with Fio Corporation to use their Deki Reader a portable unit built around an android smartphone to do further in-depth testing and analysis.
The Deki Reader is able to use the camera feature to take pictures, software to guide the user, analyze outcomes, and phone features to upload data over the cellular network. The Deki Reader software walks the user through the test protocol for LFIs thereby improving the likelihood of accurate results.
Based on the strong analytical data obtained during testing, three technologies are set for field trials in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In addition, NRL has been coordinating with additional research teams outside of the U.S to provide support and troubleshooting.