PositiveID Corporation, a developer of biological detection and diagnostics solutions, has announced that its Firefly Dx system, designed to deliver molecular diagnostic results rapidly at the point of need, was featured on the Fox News San Francisco affiliate. According to company representatives, the system could be used for detection of the Ebola hemorrhagic virus. They assert that Firefly can derive results from a sample in less than 20 minutes, at the point of need, compared to two to four hours for a lab device.
PositiveID's Firefly Dx is a point-of-need, handheld system designed to deliver molecular diagnostic results using real-time TaqMan PCR (polymerase chain reaction) chemistry. Firefly’s developers say it will meet the growing need in healthcare and molecular diagnostics markets for more rapid and accurate diagnostics and will benefit hospitals, physicians, military personnel, and others.
“The best way to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus throughout the world is to detect it as early and quickly as possible, at the source, and we believe our Firefly system will give us that ability,” states William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID. “We are very proud of the development, design and intellectual property protection achieved to date for our Firefly system, designed to deliver rapid molecular diagnostic testing faster, cheaper and exactly where it's needed.” View the Fox News feature.
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