PSIDD MASSIVE NEWS OUT TODAY LITERALLY:
PositiveID Corporation ("PositiveID" or "Company") (OTCBB
SIDD), a developer of biological detection and diagnostics solutions, today announced it has launched the development of the Firefly Dx detection system ("Firefly"), a portable, hand-held, point-of-need molecular diagnostic system, which is being designed to provide test results from sample input through reporting of results in less than 15 to 30 minutes depending on the type of test performed. Firefly is expected to quickly process human and agricultural samples to provide accurate confirmation of biological threats via a smart-phone application.
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A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=18389
The goal of Firefly is to take the Company's patented molecular diagnostic technology underlying its M-BAND (Microfluidics-based Bioagent Networked Detector) airborne bio-threat detector and Dragonfly™ Rapid MDx Cartridge-based diagnostic system, and implement it in a handheld device that can be used anywhere, anytime to test for biological agents.
The Company believes the target markets for Firefly include military field deployments, remote areas with limited or no access to healthcare, border locations and others. The Company believes most of the competing technologies currently available for biological detection and diagnosis are costly, labor intensive, and often restricted to laboratory/clinical settings. This significantly limits effective point-of-care or timely monitoring of biological events at the point of need.
William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID, stated, "The need for a hand-held system like Firefly is real. Whether natural or man-made, an invasive disease outbreak without proper monitoring or detection, which therefore results in less effective countermeasures, can seriously affect the health and commercial stability of livestock or human populations on a large scale. Recent events such as the ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and other political leaders, as well as the emerging deadly strain of bird flu in China, underscore the necessity for a system like Firefly. We have begun conversations with several potential partners to attract the research and development capital to complete the development of this innovative system."
Firefly is being designed as a disposable, cartridge-based system to process a variety of sample types, including whole blood, buccal and nasopharyngeal swabs, urine, and environmental field samples. The incorporated, multiplex polymerase chain reaction ("PCR") assay is being designed to analyze for multiple, user-defined targets from a single sample. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the TaqMan®-based PCR assay and real-time detection, Firefly is being designed to measure altered gene expression levels such as those observed in endocrine diseases, radiation exposure, and cancer. Results can be immediately obtained and processed wherever you are via a smart-phone interface (or personal computer) with a specialized, mobile application and cloud-based data sharing and storage.
