The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s (ECBC) newly developed biological self-test kit can quickly tell soldiers on the ground whether they’ve been exposed to a biological threat agent, and automatically send it in to the warfighter and his commander.
Known as SmartCAR, the device uses a colorimetric assay to identify the presence of a pathogen of concern such as ricin, anthrax or plague. The warfighter or a field medic can take a sample, place it in a small vial containing a reagent that will bind the pathogen of concern, then place a drop of the solution on the strip.