chrisgilmerproj

I am an avid fan of TED videos and recently watched a talk given Joe DeRisi in 2006 on "Hunting the Next Killer Virus".  I also happened to watch a video that day by Jamais Cascio, which was filmed at that same conference, about "Tools for Building a Better World".  After attending the TEDxUSC conference a couple of days ago I began thinking about what ideas I could share that might change the world and an idea occurred to me bringing together elements from these talks. As I understand it Dr. DeRisi and his lab developed an array of proteins on a chip that can be used for rapid virus detection.  When a virus sample is applied to the chip it will flouresce in a  pattern that can be used to identify what virus a patient might have.  Jamais Cascio's talk, on the other hand, discussed how the widespread adoption of mobile phones has really had a game changing effect economically as well as with data collection.  He implored the use of the mobile phone to solve global problems. The idea I had is simple in principle.  Combine the groundbreaking technology of virus detection on a chip device with the widespread use of cell phones to get real time data on the presence and spread of viruses globally.  I can't say it will be easy to accomplish but I think that it could be done. Imagine if we can manufacture a subset of the virus detection chip and distribute it in vending machines across the country.  A person with a virus would be able to go to that machine and for, say $1 (less than a copay at a doctor's office), buy a kit that helps them take a sample of their virus and apply it to the chip.  Once the chip has reacted they use their mobile phone to text a photo of the flourescing pattern to a virology database.  That database analyzes the pattern and does a probability analysis on what the virus might be, returning the information via text back to the user.  This same process could even be done with a digital camera and access to the web. This technology can go one step further too.  Most cell phones have GPS devices on them.  With the advent of smart phones and third party "apps" or applications for those devices we could develop a system that not only returns the picture of the chip but the geographic location of the user.  We could even get their symptoms from them and add their data to a growing database of information on what's happening in real time. I think this data would be incredibly valuable and I also think this is probably something that could even be reasonably accomplished. On a personal note I should share that in the mid-90's my uncle died of the Hantavirus.  The time between his infection and accurate identification of the virus was too short to save him.  I think a technology such as this, widely available to the public, and at a low enough cost could save lots of lives by providing the right tools to the right people. I took a chance and sent this idea to Dr. Joe DeRisi at his lab.  He was nice enough to reply by the next day with this note: "Thanks for the note. I like your idea. Indeed, we are working on a similar concept for the detection and monitoring of drug resistant malaria, which turns out to be a somewhat more tractable problem. For malaria, we need only detect whether parasites are growing, thus making it perfect for a cheap microfluidic device. This, coupled to a cell phone, could call-in test results to a global monitoring system and thus inform mainline treatment policy decisions as well as resistance containment contingency plans. We are trying to get this funded through the NIH right now, but no luck so far. The point-of-care or consumer virus chip is going to take a bit of work, mainly on the fluidics and reagent handling end. Currently, the system requires the use of a few enzymes, a thermocycler, and several DNA cleanup steps, all of which would need to be incorporated onto the device. It is possible, but not so easy. At the moment, we are trying to move the virus chip out of the lab and into a lab medicine environment here at UCSF. This will be the first test of its clinical utility beyond the realm of research. Thanks again for your note. I suspect your vision will be a reality eventually." I personally have a lot of hope that technologies like this and the increasing ability to share information will really bring a great change to all of us in the near future.