BioFlyte Launches First Field Deployable Airborne COVID-19 Detection System to Improve School and Workplace Safety

The Sentinel™ is the first integrated solution for airborne COVID-19 detection and delivers results within an hour to prevent widespread infection in schools, factories and other workplace environments

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioFlyte, a biodetection company with a new class of fieldable biological threat collection, detection, and identification solutions, today announced the launch of the Sentinel™ Airborne COVID-19 Detection System for real-world surveillance of airborne coronavirus and other respiratory pathogens.

As schools, factories and other workplaces re-open, monitoring for COVID-19 infections will remain a necessary part of safety protocols, especially in schools where many young children have not been vaccinated. While some workplaces have relied thus far upon testing only a random sample of people, that can be unreliable, and frequent testing of every employee or student using a rapid, on-site test is costly and time intensive. Environmental monitoring with the Sentinel system is a faster and more cost-effective way to identify if there is an infected person present and help reduce prolonged exposure.

The Sentinel solution includes BioFlyte’s BioCapture™ z720 handheld air sampler and the BioFire Defense, Inc. FilmArray® PCR sample analysis system. Other airborne coronavirus sampling, detection and identification systems are laboratory-based and require a day for shipment and processing at an offsite lab to determine results. The Sentinel offers flexibility with the handheld BioCapture for quick on-site sampling, and the BioFire’s multiplex PCR technology offers results at the point of need in under an hour, all at a lower price point than competitive solutions.

The BioCapture z720 is the highest-performing handheld air sampler on the market and was built upon standard dry filter collection and extraction technology validated through years of testing. The z720 delivers high-flow rate collection onto an advanced filter material with predictable sample extraction. Through testing with a leading university hospital in the U.S., the BioCapture z720 was determined to be effective at collecting airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus into a 5 mL liquid sample and obtaining a positive PCR test result from that sample using the FilmArray®.

Critical Environmental Remediation Industries (CERI), a Michigan based indoor air quality company, recently invested in the Sentinel system and is actively deploying it for maritime safety, and in industrial and residential workplace safety applications.

"The BioFlyte Sentinel solution not only delivers significant cost savings for clients, it also helps ensure workplace safety,” said Morgan Fisher, Vice President at CERI. “Our clients are now able to reliably identify the presence of airborne coronavirus and other pathogens in about an hour, instead of the days typically required by traditional methods, which helps reduce operational downtime."

“BioFlyte’s focus has always been critical infrastructure protection and emergency response, and over the past year, that has meant pandemic response,” said Dr. Charles Call, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of BioFlyte. “We used our talent and technology to develop and validate a revolutionary new tool in the fight against COVID-19, especially as schools and workplaces look to reopen safely. The Sentinel was purpose built for environmental monitoring for COVID-19 and other airborne respiratory pathogens and offers decision makers a more cost-effective solution than traditional surveillance methods and even other airborne pathogen samplers on the market.”

The Sentinel solution is available for purchase now. For more information on the system and how to order, please visit https://www.sentinel720.bioflyte.com/.

For more information about BioFlyte and its products, please visit: https://bioflyte.com/.

About BioFlyte

BioFlyte is a biodefense and microbial identification company that is commercializing a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological contamination sampling, detection, and identification solutions. The firm’s current application focus is critical infrastructure protection and pandemic response. For more information about BioFlyte and its technology, please visit: https://bioflyte.com.