A Generic Bio-Alarm Based on the Application of Immunowaveguide and Neural Networks

It is frequently the case that a biological alarm is required to provide GO/NOGO information for a user to make a decision in a minimum amount of time. That means bio-alarms should have the ability to identify a large number of biological agents, monitor the change in concentration of these dangerous materials, and make intelligent decisions in a very short time. In response to the need for this technology, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a generic bio-alarm with selectivity, speed, and sensitivity. The POC approach is based on the combination of two state-of-the-art technologies: waveguide fluoroimmunoasay (WFIA) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The proposed WFIA can have many parallel channels and large sensing areas for simultaneous multiple analyte sensing. ANNs have been applied to various pattern recognition, classification, and intelligent decision making tasks. Both techniques have been independently investigated and have been proven to work. The merger of these technologies will provide the framework for the contruction of a biological agent monitor that meets the Army's requirements. POC proposes an innovative and technically unparalleled concept for a highly sensitive fluoroimmunoassay device for biological agent monitoring.