MIT COVID-19 Hackathon Winners Track F

AI Summary

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Key Insights

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.

“The future
belongs to
those who
PREPARE
for it”
RALPH
WALDO
EMERSON

1/15

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?

2/15

The Future of
Pandemic Surveillance
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
The Ideal Surveillance Network
We can achieve all the above!

3/15

WASTE-WATER BIOSENSORS
AS AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM
FOR PANDEMIC SURVEILLANCE

4/15

Fecal samples are best suited for
large-scale community surveillance
Viral RNA is observed for much longer in
fecal samples than throat swabs.
Wastewater Testing Complements Swab Tests
Days since the first symptom
Results from throat swabs (TS) and faecal samples (FS) through the course of the disease for 34 patients with SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive faecal samples
~ Wu et al (Lancet 2020)
P
a
tie
n
t
s
Individual test
One-time use
Scarce, costly
Community-based
Reusable
Low-cost at scale
RT-PCR
Swab Test
Wastewater
Monitoring

5/15

Wastewater Testing : Biosensor vs RT-PCR
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)
Scarce resource
and expensive
during pandemic
Initial setup cost
and low long term
running costs
Start-up costs and
Overhead expenses
Human Intervention
Risk of Contamination
Data Collection
and Analysis

6/15

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

7/15

Automated Wastewater Biosensor: A Schematic

8/15

Wastewater Biosensor Network At National Scale
Low-Risk
Zone
High-Risk
Zone
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
Sub-network of
biosensors

9/15

LIMITATIONS OF OUR METHOD
QUANTITATIVE PREDICTION
A quantitative assessment of virus
spread is not currently possible!
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
We have an answer!

10/15

S
martlock-downs, informedpublic
policydecisions,bold leadership
Predictingfuturewavesofoutbreak
Classifyingareasaslow/highriskzones,
evenbefore infectedpeoplearetested
Betterresourceallocation: healthcare
providers,RT-PCRtests,PPEandmore
SHAPINGPUBLICPOLICY
ANEARLYWARNINGSYSTEM
TheQualitative
Approach
WASTEWATER
MONITORING
COVID-19

11/15

moderate start-up costs
low overhead costs
minimal energy usage
all materials are recyclable
SUSTAINABLE SURVEILLANCE
Only LSPR chip + DNA needs to be changed for future use
Easy to install and can be reused repeatedly
REUSABLE FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS
Near-real-time data collection
Community-based surveillance
REAL-TIME FEEDBACK FOR COMMUNITY TRACKING
Salient Features
Scalable, local to global
Saves thousands of lives!

12/15

Find useful biomarkers
in genome of pathogen;
Design the LSPR chip
PHASE 1
Install sensors in areas
with large population &
less reported cases
PHASE 2
Use sensor readings to
promote smart public
policy decisions
PHASE 3
Periodic wastewater
monitoring to prepare
for future waves
PHASE 4
Proposed
Strategy

13/15

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!

14/15

$References 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.$

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