Thermo Fisher launches in-air pathogens surveillance solution

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched its AerosolSense Sampler, a surveillance solution designed to deliver fast and reliable insight into the presence of in-air pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2.

Individual testing will continue to be a cornerstone in the COVID-19 pandemic response because it enables and informs clinical diagnoses, patient triage and treatment decisions. As society returns to pre-pandemic activities, expanded and complementary monitoring of environments will be key in providing useful insights into virus presence. The AerosolSense Sampler is the next step in providing institutions with highly reliable information to help keep their employees and the public safe.

The AerosolSense Sampler is an in-air pathogen surveillance solution, which collects representative aerosol samples of ambient air and traps in-air pathogens on a collection substrate. The sample can be readily analysed through subsequent laboratory testing using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology. Confirming the presence of pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 in a space during a known time interval enables decision makers in hospitals and other indoor facilities to take actions to protect their employees and provide the public with confidence.

Mark Stevenson, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said: “Such factors as emerging variants, semi-vaccinated populations and varying levels of compliance with COVID-19 personal safety protocols, continue to pose risks to a society looking to return to life as it was before the pandemic. It is important that easy-to-use, highly reliable solutions be available to allow hospitals, nursing homes, schools, businesses and government institutions to identify the presence of in-air pathogens quickly, so safety protocols can be put into action, validated, or strengthened.”

Dr. John Broach, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts and an early user of the AerosolSense Sampler, added: “Monitoring the efficacy of infection control practices is invaluable to protecting health care providers on the frontlines. Combatting COVID-19 is a multi-front battle, and this surveillance solution can be implemented seamlessly within institutions to alert them to the presence of SARS-CoV-2, so that they can take appropriate steps to prevent its spread.”

Thermo Fisher designed the AerosolSense Sampler to capture a wide variety of in-air pathogens and has specifically validated it for the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen.