Sep 26 2008
In 1918, a strain of influenza, popularly known as the Spanish flu, ravaged the globe, killing an estimated 2.5% of the world's population. Now, concerns about new pandemics have led the global public health community to seek early warning systems to identify disease "hot spots" and enable rapid responses to prevent epidemics. The technological breakthrough that epidemiologists are looking for exists with QualSec's NanoNose.
As environmental changes worldwide bring people in greater contact with animals, zoonoses - diseases that can transfer between humans and animals – are increasingly emerging as threats, including diseases like avian influenza, hantavirus, Ebola and West Nile viruses. QualSec’s NanoNose uses patented breakthroughs in nanotechnology for rapid data collection, allowing health officials better disease surveillance and vulnerability mapping.
This electronic nose technology developed by QualSec will be able to rapidly identify "hot spots" that could become epidemic nodes. Rapid detection is crucial for effective epidemic intelligence.
QualSec’s NanoNose is highly portable and rugged, and can be easily deployed to remote areas and used by operators with minimal training to detect epidemics before they spread. Though the sensor is designed to process data individually, it can be linked into a wireless network and transmit findings of disease to a central response center, where global health organizations can react to disease outbreaks.
Posted September 26th, 2008