Method for analysis of aerosolized biological species in epidemic and pandemic prediction

摘要

The disclosed invention is a new concept for a network of specialized continuous ambient air sampling systems, which employ a novel non-destructive ionization and separation method, coupled to a near real-time genomic sequencer. The network of preferably pathogen samplers, would constitute a plurality of distributed nodes throughout the world, with bacterial & viral concentration, identification, and mutation data uploaded to the cloud for epidemic/pandemic predictive modeling. The proposed system offers the ability to migrate from outbreak surveillance, to outbreak forecast. In addition, the capability for continuous data of genomic sequencing offers an enhanced capability to help track antigenic drift and antigenic shift. While optimized for viral capture and analysis, any airborne pathogen or spore can be accepted using the technology. Applications include world health monitoring, pandemic prediction, and detection of real-time bioterror pathogen deployment.