Strategies for Effective
Improvements to the
BioWatch System
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Joe Alper, Rapporteur
Planning Committee for a Workshop on Strategies
for Effective Biological Detection Systems
Board on Life Sciences
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This project was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and Contract No. 10003359 with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-47174-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-47174-5
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25014
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Strategies for Effective Improvements to the BioWatch System: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25014.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE BIOLOGICAL DETECTION SYSTEMS1
ADEL A. F. MAHMOUD (Chair), Professor in Molecular Biology and Public Policy, Princeton University
BRUCE BUDOWLE, Director, Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center
JOHN D. CLEMENTS, Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine
DAVID W. CULLIN, Vice President, Research and Development, FLIR Systems
NORMAN KAHN, President and Principal, Counter-Bio LLC
GRACE KUBIN, Director, Laboratory Services Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
FRED M. ROSA, JR., Senior Advisor for Homeland Security, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
TOM SLEZAK, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
COLIN STIMMLER, Senior Director, Bureau of Agency Preparedness and Response, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
JENNIFER HEIMBERG, Study Director, Board on Life Sciences
KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer, Board on Life Sciences
SCOTT WOLLEK, Senior Program Officer, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Health and Medicine Division
ANGELA KOLESNIKOVA, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Life Sciences
Consultant
JOE ALPER, Consulting Writer
__________________
1The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s planning committees are solely responsible for organizing the workshop, identifying topics, and choosing speakers. The responsibility for the published Proceedings of a Workshop rests with the workshop rapporteur and the institution.
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Reviewers
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Patrick Chain, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Scott Hughes, New York City Public Health Laboratory; Grace Kubin, Texas Department of State Health Services; M. Allen Northrup, Northrup Consulting Group; and Gerald W. Parker, Texas A&M University.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Paul Keim, Northern Arizona University and TGen. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.
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Acknowledgments
The production of this Proceedings of a Workshop would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the several people and the sponsorship of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Health Affairs. The workshop was planned by a dedicated committee whose members provided hard work and effort toward executing the agenda. The reviewers’ thoughtful comments added further insight. Finally, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine staff involvement and support throughout ensured a smooth and swift process.
The Planning Committee wishes to express its gratitude to the following speakers, panelists, and authors of the invited papers for their interesting and thoughtful presentations and contributions: Paul Biedrzycki, C. Titus Brown, David Brown, Wayne Bryden, Chuck Burrus, Mark Buttner, George Dizikes, Henry Erlich, Asha George, Molly Isbell, Dana Kadavy, James Liljegren, Duncan MacCannell, Suzet McKinney, Toby Merlin, M. Allen Northrup, Denise Pettit, Lyle Probst, Jennifer Rakeman, Sam Reed, David Silcott, and Maureen (Mo) Sullivan.
The Planning Committee would like to also extend its thanks to BioWatch leadership and staff including Michael V. Walter, Mark Scheckelhoff, and Emily Gabriel.
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Contents
2 ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT PERFORMANCE
Overview: The Current Quality Assurance Approach
Overview: Dispersion Modeling Tools to Optimize Biological Detection Architectures
How Improvements Might Affect Current Operations and the QA Process
3 DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE BIOLOGICAL DETECTION SYSTEMS
Overview: Technology-Focused Outlook for Future Biological Detection Systems
Enhancements to Existing Systems
Novel Technologies to Expand Capabilities
Indoor Surveillance Requirements
4 COMPATIBILITY OF BIOWATCH IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE EXISTING DETECTION ARCHITECTURE
Operational Considerations for Novel Technologies and Modalities
Major Topics of the Workshop Within the Context of U.S. Biodefense Efforts
APPENDIXES
C BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PLANNING COMMITTEE
D BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF WORKSHOP SPEAKERS
F INVITED PAPER: CURRENT QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) APPROACH: DHS BIOWATCH PROGRAM
G INVITED PAPER: USE OF DISPERSION MODELING TOOLS IN OPTIMIZING BIOLOGICAL DETECTION ARCHITECTURES
H INVITED PAPER: TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED OUTLOOK FOR FUTURE BIOLOGICAL DETECTION SYSTEMS
I INVITED PAPER: BIOWATCH IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN EXISTING BIOLOGICAL DETECTION ARCHITECTURE
FIGURES
1-2 The essential services of public health
1-3 The BioWatch local operating space
2-1 Indoor modeling using CONTAM
2-2 The QUIC urban dispersion model handles airflow around buildings
3-1 Current BioWatch Generation 2 aerosol collector
3-2 Lasso system for biological particle capture using a coated, coiled aluminum ribbon
3-3 An E. coli pangenome from 50 randomly chosen strains
3-4 Using culture techniques to beat clutter in the MALDI-TOF process
3-5 Evolution of the FireflyDx technology produced reductions in size, cost, and time to result
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
| ANL | Argonne National Laboratory |
| APDS | Autonomous Pathogen Detection System |
| ASPR | Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response |
| BAC | BioWatch Advisory Committee |
| BAR | BioWatch Actionable Result |
| BARDA | Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority |
| BASIS | Biological Aerosol Sentry and Information System |
| BDS | Biological Detection System |
| BGM | Argonne National Laboratory Below Ground Model |
| BLaDE | BioWatch Laboratory Data Entry |
| BWNCC | BioWatch National Conference Call |
| CAR | corrective action report |
| CD | communicable disease |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| CLIA | Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments |
| CMOS | complementary metal-oxide semiconductor |
| CONOP | concept of operations |
| CRI | Cities Readiness Initiative |
| CRP | Critical Reagents Program |
| CST | Civil Support Team |
| DBT | design-basis threat |
| ddPCR | droplet digital polymerase chain reaction |
| DHS | Department of Homeland Security |
| DoD | Department of Defense |
| EH | environmental health |
| ELISA | enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay |
| ESI | electrospray ionization |
| FDA | Food and Drug Administration |
| HMAS | highly multiplexed amplicon sequencing |
| HVAC | heating, ventilation, and air conditioning |
| IED | improvised explosive device |
| LAMP | loop-mediated isothermal amplification |
| LANL | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| LHD | local health department |
| LLNL | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
| LRN | Laboratory Response Network |
| MALDI | matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization |
| MTA | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| NBIC | National Biosurveillance Integration Center |
| NGS | next-generation sequencing |
| PCR | polymerase chain reaction |
| PHEP | Public Health Emergency Preparedness |
| QA | quality assurance |
| QC | quality control |
| QUIC | Quick Urban and Industrial Complex model |
| rtPCR | real-time polymerase chain reaction |
| S&T | DHS Science and Technology Directorate |
| SBS | sequencing by synthesis |
| SMRT | single-molecule real time |
| SNP | single nucleotide polymorphism |
| SNS | Strategic National Stockpile |
| SOP | standard operating procedure |
| SPAMS | single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry |
| TOF | time of flight |
| TPD | threshold of probable detection |
