According to recent reports in The Independent and the Drudge Report, a new worldwide pandemic is on its way, an event which could rival the Black Plague and “kill 50 million people and wreak massive disruption around the globe.” Former Surgeons General Dr. C. Everett Koop and Dr. David Satcher describe the threat as imminent. "The pattern makes you believe the likelihood of a pandemic - (probably) avian flu - is very real,'' Satcher said. "You have to believe it's around the corner somewhere.''
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Business Wire EON) July 24, 2008 --
According to recent reports in The
Independent and the Drudge
Report, a new worldwide pandemic is on its way, an event which could
rival the Black Plague and “kill 50 million
people and wreak massive disruption around the globe.”
Former Surgeons
General Dr. C. Everett Koop and Dr. David Satcher describe the
threat as imminent. "The pattern makes you believe the likelihood of a
pandemic - (probably) avian flu - is very real,'' Satcher said. "You
have to believe it's around the corner somewhere.''
One of the biggest obstacles to containing this pandemic, Dr. Koop
notes, is that “we're fighting today's
pandemic with the same tools we had 100 years ago.”
The critical challenge in preventing or containing a pandemic outbreak
is early, rapid, and mobile screening. Historically, the viruses which
cause such suffering and mass death have outpaced our ability to detect
and act.
But according to Dr. Kevin Pegg, this disaster may be averted thanks to
an unusual device: an electronic nose.
Dr. Pegg, chief developer for QualSec Sensors, is working on a
technology which could instantly screen for diseases such as avian flu
or tuberculosis. According to industry site Biodetect.org,
the device, an electronic sensor or e-nose, is inexpensive, highly
mobile, and able to discern particles smaller than one part per billion.
With such a device, the Centers for Disease Control and other health
agencies could swiftly screen and quarantine the infected population
until the outbreak was contained.
“The outbreaks people are concerned about are
real threats, but they can be prevented,” Pegg
said. “Governments and health agencies around
the world will need to mobilize quickly in order to detect these
diseases before they can spread, especially at places like international
airports. That’s where e-nose technology comes
in.”
How E-noses work
Electronic noses, such as the one Dr. Pegg is creating, work by
detecting Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. E-noses function
something like a breathalyzer test, taking in samples of air and
creating an olfactory fingerprint that uniquely identifies diseases like
tuberculosis or the flu. Dr. Pegg’s devices
are hand-held, extremely mobile and are easy to operate.
E-noses: A Growth Area
By offering fast and non-invasive methods for detecting illnesses before
they evolve into outbreaks or pandemics, e-nose technology has the
potential to revolutionize not just the health care industry, but other
industries as well.
Bionic-nose.com, a
site devoted to discussion of e-nose technology, tracks the development
of these devices, which will be instrumental in helping the homeland
security and food industries to detect explosives, hazardous chemicals
and diseases. The effectiveness of these devices in detecting multiple
substances, as well as their relevance across industries, points to a
possibility for substantial growth in the e-nose marketplace.
The Pandemic That Never Happened
The research progress of E-nose companies like QualSec Sensors brings a
21st-century set of detection tools to the task
at hand, enabling governments and hospitals to fight potential pandemics
quickly and effectively, drastically reducing their impact. Like the
rest of us, Dr. Koop may be relieved to know humanity is now fighting
this war with a shiny new toolset.
For more information, please contact David Hart at 919-237-3833 or hart@bionic-nose.com.
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