Research Areas: Non-disease Applications

Correlogic’s technology has wide application beyond the medical context; the KDE^™ potentially addresses any signal streams -- such as those generated by financial markets, processing facilities, geographic surveys, weather stations, among others.

One such area of published research, conducted with Charles Stark Draper Labs and others, suggests our technology can provide a powerful tool for homeland security.  In a series of peer-reviewed studies, scientists were able to use Correlogic’s algorithms for rapid detection of airborne pathogens.  This detection approach provided significantly greater accuracy at lower levels of concentration. 

The September 2005 issue of Analytical Chemistry, published our study, “Species-Specific Bacteria Identification Using Differential Mobility Spectrometry and Bioinformatics Pattern Recognition”. Scientists used Correlogic's “Hidden Patterns” and Proteome Quest technology, to identify and differentiate between live bacteria based on analysis of the gases given off by the growing bacterial cultures.  The results have implications for diagnosis of bacterial infections using breath analysis. Other applications may include detection and identification of microbial growth in building materials and veterinary uses.

The June 2006 issue of Biomolecular Engineering, published our research, “Novel technology for rapid species-specific detection of Bacillus spores”. Our team of scientists used pyrolysis-micromachined differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) and Correlogic's genetic algorithms to distinguish among bacillus species closely related to Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent in anthrax).  Results showed over 90 percent accuracy with a sensitivity of detection of 5,000 spores, significantly below the median infectious dose of 8,000 to 10,0000 spores and the median lethal dose of ~62,000 spores.  Few existing rapid detection techniques detect below 100,000 spores.  Our research was also presented as a poster at the Pittcon Homeland Security and Forensics session, March 2006.

The combination of the DMS machine and Correlogic's technology shows promise for portable, near-real-time accurate detection of spores – and indeed, as an urgently needed highly specific tool for detection of bio-warfare agents. In a more generalized setting, it may also be possible to detect and identify other harmful bacteria such as the Clostridia, which cause tetanus, diarrhea, botulism and food poisoning.