Strategies for Effective Improvements to the BioWatch System
English
By (author): and Medicine Board on Life Sciences Division on Earth and Life Studies Engineering National Academies of Sciences
BioWatch is the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) system for detecting an aerosolized biological attack using collectors that are positioned strategically across the country to continuously monitor the air for biological threats. As currently deployed, BioWatch collectors draw air through filters that field technicians collect daily and transport to laboratories, where professional technicians analyze the material collected on the filter for evidence of biological threats.
As part of the BioWatch program's efforts to enhance its effectiveness and capabilities, particularly with regard to detecting biological threats in challenging indoor environments, DHS requested the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hold a workshop to explore alternative and effective biodetection systems for aerosolized biological agents that would meet BioWatch's technical and operational requirements, integrate into the existing system architecture and public health infrastructure, and be deployable by 2027. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
Table of Contents- Front Matter
- 1 Introduction and Overview
- 2 Assessment of Current Performance
- 3 Developing Effective Biological Detection Systems
- 4 Compatibility of BioWatch Improvements Within the Existing Biological Detection Architecture
- 5 Overview of the Workshop
- References
- Appendix A: Statement of Task
- Appendix B: Workshop Agenda
- Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Planning Committee
- Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Workshop Speakers
- Appendix E: Invited Paper: BioWatch Program Overview: A Local Public Health Perspective for Enhancing Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response
- Appendix F: Invited Paper: Current Quality Assurance (QA) Approach: DHS BioWatch Program
- Appendix G: Invited Paper: Use of Dispersion Modeling Tools in Optimizing Biological Detection Architectures
- Appendix H: Invited Paper: Technology-Focused Outlook for Future Biological Detection Systems
- Appendix I: Invited Paper: BioWatch Improvements Within Existing Biological Detection Architecture