news digest
tic-ing down – time to send in the robots
Environics has launched a compact detection package which includes mounting fl anges for vehicles, mounting on robots for EOD missions where improvised chemical devices (ICDs) are suspected, and for emergency response. The ChemProDM (ChemPro Detector
Module) has a multi-sensor CWA and TIC detection array which has 10 sensing channels, and an open loop Ion Mobility Spectroscopy (IMS) sensor to provide CWA sensitivity below military action levels. As the package does not have its own
display, if the vehicle or robot has a digital backbone the digital output of the ChemProDM can be directly integrated into the vehicle’s displays. If a digital backbone is not available the optional
The
Environics ChemPro Detector Module for multi-sensor CWA and TIC detection
Remote Alarm Unit (RAU) can be mounted away from the ChemProDM module. The RAU is designed to fully emulate
the proven intuitive display of the handheld ChemPro100i, which is used on dismounting for chemical recon away from the vehicle. An optional Vehicle Radiation Detector allows the ChemProDM and RAU to simultaneously provide vapour and gamma radiation detection for CRN protection with a very compact footprint.
UNDERWATER RADIATION
Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments has completed radiation sensor testing on the Boeing Echo Ranger Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV). New radiation detection tools were included in a series of tests performed by the Boeing Echo Ranger, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during recent testing in the Pacifi c Ocean, off Catalina Island, Calif. The test campaign allowed spectroscopic monitoring of the seabed. The co-operative effort included engineers from both organisations to perform ultra-low level isotope discrimination that occurs naturally in the Pacifi c. Princeton offers a patented technology for background subtraction which allows levels down to 100 times below background to be identifi ed, as well as isotope category and isotope specifi c dose rates. Applications for advanced nuclear radiation detection and underwater isotope identifi cation include uranium exploration, underwater vessel interdiction and border security. The test efforts represent an expansion into radiation detection for environmental monitoring, most notably by air monitoring stations, water purifi cation and sampling.
PACOBURNS – fi ghting infection in an age of antibiotic resistance
Pherecydes Pharma, a biotechnology company specialising in R&D of lytic bacteriophages for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, has received EUR 900,000 from France’s General Directorate for Armaments (DGA) for Project PACOBURNS – which will explore the possibility of using bacteriophages to combat bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics, especially skin infections. Working with the Institute of Genetics and Microbiology of the University of Paris XI and the Armed Forces Institute of Biomedical Research (IRBA), Pherecydes Pharma will evaluate the therapeutic effi cacy, safety and pharmacodynamics of two cocktails of bacteriophages. The fi rst is designed for infections caused by Escherichia coli-type bacteria, and the second
for infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which recently caused the deaths of three babies in a hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland) – and specifi cally, for treating open burn wounds infected by these resistant germs. Trials on humans are scheduled to begin early-mid 2013. The project is targeting a market where
antibiotics are becoming less eff ective. Resistance to antibiotics has become a major public health problem; at least 25,000 people die in Europe each year as a result of antibiotic-resistant infections. This challenge is also of concern to the armed forces’ health services, which are encountering increasing resistance to antibiotics in both military personnel and civilians, especially when it comes to the treatment of serious burns, as well as
respiratory tract infections. In the current state of pharmaceutical
research, no new antibiotic is likely to reach the market over the next eight to ten years. It is against this background of therapeutic bottleneck that phagotherapy is emerging as a realistic alternative to current treatments that are losing their eff ectiveness. Pherecydes Pharma has previously
worked on the isolation and purifi cation of lytic bacteriophages capable of destroying certain bacterial strains, including strains that have become resistant to antibiotics. The Institute of Genetics and Microbiology of the University of Paris XI will be responsible for electronic microscopy and bacteriophage sequencing, while IRBA will provide a mouse model adapted to the initial preclinical evaluations.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE | 2012/01 | 07
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