MIT COVID-19 Hackathon Winners Track F
MIT COVID-19 Hackathon Winners Track F
- COVID-19 may not be the last pandemic of our lifetimes.
- Wastewater biosensors offer community-based, reusable, and low-cost monitoring for pandemic surveillance, unlike traditional swab tests.
- LSPR biosensors are sustainable, reusable for future pandemics, and provide real-time community tracking.
- The proposed strategy involves identifying biomarkers, installing sensors in high-population areas, and using sensor data for public policy decisions.
MIT COVID-19 Hackathon Winners Track F
@pranavnadimpalli3 months ago
'The future belongs to those who PREPARE for it'
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

LESSONS FROM EBOLA
Were not ready for the next epidemic
We're not ready for it. But we can there. get
Bill Gates
March 18, 2015
US. Experts say we're really not prepared.
We've a bad habit of paying attention to pandemics only when it's too late got
By Sigal Samuel

Disease X couldbe the worlds worst nightmare

By Eileen AJ Connelly

- Near-real-time feedback and data analysis
- Reusable , replicate its success for future pandemics
- Community-focused , non-invasive monitoring
- IoT Integration into existing surveillance networks
- Sustainable ,The 3 E's: Eco-friendly, Economical, Ethical
- Individual test
- One-time use
- Scarce, costly
- Community-based
- Reusable
- Low-cost at scale
- We place biosensors in sewage plants of local communities
- Data analyses from all communities in a region are aggregated
- Classify regions, states as low/high risk zones based on intensity of RNA vs time curve
- Classifying areas as low/high risk zones , even before infected people are tested Better resource allocation : healthcare
- providers, RT-PCR tests, PPE and more
- Smart lock-downs , informed public policy decisions , bold leadership
- Predicting future waves of outbreak
- moderate start-up costs
- low overhead costs
- minimal energy usage
- all materials are recyclable
- Only LSPR chip + DNA needs to be changed for future use
- Easy to install and can be reused repeatedly
- Near-real-time data collection
- Community-based surveillance
- Scalable, local to global
- Saves thousands of lives!
- Qiu, Guangyu, et al. "Dual-functional plasmonic photothermal biosensors for highly accurate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 detection." ACS nano 14.5 (2020): 5268-5277.
- Wu, Yongjian, et al. "Prolonged presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in faecal samples." The lancet Gastroenterology & hepatology 5.5 (2020): 434-435.
- Ejeian, Fatemeh, et al. "Biosensors for wastewater monitoring: A review." Biosensors and Bioelectronics 118 (2018): 66-79.
- Quilliam, Richard S., et al. "COVID-19: The environmental implications of shedding SARS-CoV-2 in human faeces." Environment International (2020).
- Wu, Fuqing, et al. "SARS-CoV-2 titers in wastewater are higher than expected from clinically confirmed cases." medRxiv (2020).
- Nghiem, Long D., et al. "The COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for the waste and wastewater services sector." Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (2020): 100006.
- Liu, Yun, et al. "Low-Cost Localized surface plasmon resonance biosensing platform with a response enhancement for protein detection." Nanomaterials 9.7 (2019): 1019.
- Wang, Yujie, et al. "The detection of SARS-CoV with SPR biosensor." Xiyou Jinshu Cailiao yu Gongcheng(Rare Metal Materials and Engineering) 35 (2006): 288-290.
- Hong, Yoochan, et al. "Nanobiosensors based on localized surface plasmon resonance for biomarker detection." Journal of Nanomaterials 2012 (2012).
- Hong, Yoochan, et al. "Localized surface plasmon resonance based nanobiosensor for biomarker detection of invasive cancer cells." Journal of biomedical optics 19.5 (2013): 051202.
- Jeon, Hui Bin, Philippe Vuka Tsalu, and Ji Won Ha. "Shape Effect on the Refractive Index Sensitivity at Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Inflection Points of Single Gold Nanocubes with Vertices." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1-8.
- Jayabal, Subramaniam, et al. "A gold nanorod-based localized surface plasmon resonance platform for the detection of environmentally toxic metal ions." Analyst 140.8 (2015): 2540-2555.
- Djaileb, Abdelhadi, et al. "A Rapid and Quantitative Serum Test for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies with Portable Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing." (2020).
- He, Xi, et al. "Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19." Nature medicine 26.5 (2020): 672-675.
- Le Dinh, Tuan, et al. "Design and deployment of a remote robust sensor network: Experiences from an outdoor water quality monitoring network." 32nd IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2007). IEEE, 2007.
- Nakamura, Tomofumi, et al. "Environmental surveillance of poliovirus in sewage water around the introduction period for inactivated polio vaccine in Japan." Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 81.5 (2015): 1859-1864.
An Undeniable Truth
COVID-19 is not the last pandemic of our lifetimes.
We had since 2011 after the MERS outbreak to anticipate and prepare. We failed to do both, and it has cost us dearly.
Though we can't prevent or foresee the next big pandemic, we can set up surveillance networks to track it effectively.
The big question: What infrastructure is needed to track the next big pandemic? What are the ideal characteristics of such a system?
The Future of Pandemic Surveillance
The Ideal Surveillance Network
We can achieve all the above!
WASTE-WATER BIOSENSORS AS AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR PANDEMIC SURVEILLANCE
Wastewater Testing Complements Swab Tests

Fecal samples are best suited for large-scale community surveillance
Viral RNA is observed for much longer in fecal samples than throat swabs.
RT-PCR Swab Test
Wastewater Monitoring
Wastewater Testing : Biosensor vs RT-PCR




Human Intervention
Risk of Contamination
Data Collection and Analysis
Start-up costs and Overhead expenses
No man power needed after the initial setup
Need to gather volunteers for testing everyday

Virus is never exposed to the surroundings
Risk of leaks before/during transportation

Data collected and analyzed in near-real-time
Delay in getting the test results (upto 24 hours)

Initial setup cost and low long term running costs

Scarce resource and expensive during pandemic
LSPR Biosensor: A Schematic

Cost Estimate
Time of Use
50-80 US$ (at global scale)
45-60 Days before LSPR chip replacement
USP
Reusable for all future pandemics!
Automated Wastewater Biosensor: A Schematic

Wastewater Biosensor Network At National Scale

LIMITATIONS OF OUR METHOD
PER-CAPITA RNA ESTIMATE
Yet to estimate magnitude of RNA particles excreted by individuals.
SEVERITY OF INFECTION
Severity of infection cannot be estimated with our approach
QUANTITATIVE PREDICTION
A quantitative assessment of virus spread is not currently possible!
We have an answer!
AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM
SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY
The Qualitative Approach WASTEWATER MONITORING COVID-19
Salient Features
SUSTAINABLE SURVEILLANCE
REUSABLE FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS
REAL-TIME FEEDBACK FOR COMMUNITY TRACKING
Proposed Strategy
PHASE 1
Find useful biomarkers in genome of pathogen; Design the LSPR chip
PHASE 2
Install sensors in areas with large population & less reported cases
PHASE 3
Use sensor readings to promote smart public policy decisions
PHASE 4
Periodic wastewater monitoring to prepare for future waves
The Next Big Pandemic
Our lack of pandemic preparedness has caused irreparable damages to our communities.
Our systems must change to adapt to the new reality.
We need reliable, accurate, and sustainable surveillance to combat the next big pandemic.
Every life saved is valuable. Our efforts today will ensure us tomorrow!
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