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PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 20, 2004. MicroFluidic Systems Inc. (MFSI) of Pleasanton, Calif., and Quantum Magnetics of San Diego, Calif., announced today that they have signed a cooperation agreement to develop and produce an automated system to identify air-borne pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) awarded a prime contract to MFSI to develop a Bioagent Autonomous Networked Detector (BAND) system.
The HSARPA program is intended to improve upon technology currently deployed in the DHS BioWatch system at lower acquisition and operating cost, to allow wide deployment in urban areas for detection of potential biological threats.
Quantum Magnetics, a subsidiary of InVision Technologies, Inc., will serve as a subcontractor on this contract. Quantum Magnetics will be responsible for design and development of the wireless networking of the MFSI BAND system. InVision will assist MFSI and Quantum Magnetics in product design for manufacturability and commercial deployment.
"This is an exciting collaboration for MFSI and DHS. Quantum Magnetics and InVision will perform key steps and provide expertise in producing commercially-viable systems for pathogen detection," commented Dr. M. Allen Northrup, MFSI President and CEO.
"We are very excited by the advancements in bio-detection being made by MFSI," said Andrew Siegel, InVision's Senior Vice President for Corporate Development. "We're pleased to have this opportunity to support MFSI through the application of our understanding of what it takes to develop viable commercial systems for homeland protection."
MicroFluidic Systems Inc. (MFSI) was founded in 2001 and is focused on the development of automated microfluidic systems for biological assays. MFSI personnel have been involved with the development of automated DNA-based pathogen detection systems and microfluidics for the US Government and commercial markets for over 10 years, including the world's first miniaturized, portable, battery-operated, real-time, polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-based detection system. For more information, see www.mfsi.biz.
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