DIAGNOSTICS STUDIES

BACKGROUND

From global deployments to underdeveloped regions to living and working in close quarters, service members are placed in unique situations that may increase their risk of developing an infectious disease. The ability to rapidly detect and diagnose illness is vital to force health protection.

VALUE

The work done by our Infectious Diseases team contributes directly to force health protection by defining critical pathogen threats and directing appropriate intervention strategies.

GOALS

Evaluate and transition diagnostic devices for rapid detection of illness in clinical and field settings
Protect warfighters from dangerous pathogens through early identification and diagnosis
Enable service members to employ point-of-care (POC) diagnostic devices to detect and diagnose infectious diseases in austere, field-forward settings

CAPABILITIES

Test rapid diagnostic assays and advanced platforms
Large capacity, state-of-the-art freezer archive with nearly 1 million specimens, allowing rapid validation of new technologies
Support for evaluation of POC diagnostic devices for use in specific locations, including deployed battle groups, field aid stations, and clinical and reference labs
Provide training in pathogen diagnoses

RESEARCH

Evaluation of a platform designed to distinguish bacterial from viral infections based on a person's immune response
Evaluation of tests for specific biowarfare agents such as Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, and Burkholderia pseudomallei
Rapid diagnostics for infectious agents in areas of high strategic importance

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
7700 Arlington Blvd. Ste. 5113 Falls Church, VA 22042-5113
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General Navy Medical Inquiries (to Bureau of Medicine and Surgery): usn.ncr.bumedfchva.mbx.bumed-general-inquiries@health.mil