Medical Analysis Systems Inc. Receives Prestigious Department of Defense Quality Award.Health/Medical Writers CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 25, 2000 Medical Analysis Systems Inc. (MAS(TM)) was just awarded a 2000 U.S. Army SBIR SBIR Small Business Innovation Research (program/grant) SBIR Space Based Infra-Red SBIR Speaker-Boundary Interference SBIR Site Backsurface-referenced Ideal Plane/Range (silicon wafers) (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase II Quality Award for its development of VecTest(TM), a rapid assay for detecting malaria parasites in infected mosquitoes. The project was one out of only four selected through a rigorous Quality Awards process including excellence in originality, Army relevance and commercialization potential, representing the "Best of Class" among 23 nominations submitted by the Army Laboratories and Centers who participate in the SBIR Program. This prestigious awards ceremony, attended by top U.S. Army and government officials and researchers, was held at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 22. "The Army maintains its decisive edge with the help of the small business community," stated Paul J. Hoeper, assistant secretary of the Army, who presided over the event. "Agile, free-thinking, high-tech small companies often generate the most innovative and significant solutions to meet our war fighters' needs... In America's Army, we seek to harness these innovative talents for the benefit of our war fighters." VecTest(TM) was developed at Navix Inc., a subsidiary of MAS(TM), with funding provided by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute (not the hospital). Otherwise, see Walter Reed (disambiguation). The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. through the federal government's SBIR program. The U.S. Army requested that MAS(TM) develop the test for them because malaria remains a significant concern for Department of Defense (DOD (1) (Dial On Demand) A feature that allows a device to automatically dial a telephone number. For example, an ISDN router with dial on demand will automatically dial up the ISP when it senses IP traffic destined for the Internet. ) personnel, who often deploy to malarious regions of the world. The research scientists at Walter Reed feel this information is critical to preventive medicine preventive medicine, branch of medicine dealing with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of good health practices. Until recently preventive medicine was largely the domain of the U.S. teams as they establish and develop programs for the control of infectious diseases while on deployments and in operational settings. "The Army wanted a device to determine the medical threat on the ground and to be used as a guide for focusing the vector control efforts of their Preventive Medicine teams," stated Dr. Kirti Dave, team leader of the VecTest(TM) project, who represented MAS(TM) at the awards ceremony. "The test is designed to assist preventive medicine professionals by giving them firsthand, real-time information. It is easy to perform and only takes 15 minutes. The device is especially useful in helping them determine which species is the primary vector in any given area, and this is important because each species of anopheline anopheline pertaining to the anopheles genus of mosquitoes. can have a very different biology. In addition, there are implications for treatment and prophylaxis depending on which species of malaria parasite is encountered." Field studies conducted in Kenya, Thailand, Indonesia and Peru have demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of this rapid test are comparable to those obtained with the "gold standard" assays, the circumsporozoite ELISA ELISA (e-li´sah) Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay; any enzyme immunoassay using an enzyme-labeled immunoreactant and an immunosorbent. ELISA n. , impractical and difficult tests used by numerous investigators worldwide. MAS(TM) is rapidly developing applications of VecTest(TM) Panel Assay for several types of Encephalitis encephalitis (ĕnsĕf'əlī`təs), general term used to describe a diffuse inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, usually of viral origin, often transmitted by mosquitoes, in contrast to a bacterial infection of the meninges and Dengue Fever dengue fever (dĕng`gē, –gā), acute infectious disease caused by four closely related viruses and transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito; it is also known as breakbone fever and bone-crusher disease. viruses to help address the growing concern over the emergence and resurgence of these diseases in North America and other parts of the world. You can find out more about VecTest(TM) at www.vectest.com. About Medical Analysis Systems Medical Analysis Systems (MAS(TM)), with headquarters in Camarillo, is a leading provider of quality-control products, quality-assurance programs and services, reagents, and calibrators used in clinical diagnostic testing Diagnostic testing Testing performed to determine if someone is affected with a particular disease. Mentioned in: Von Willebrand Disease worldwide. MAS(TM) pioneered "liquid stable" technology, and has since been a recognized leader in the manufacture of control, reagent and calibrator calibrator an instrument for dilating a tubular structure or for determining the caliber of such a structure. products featuring this innovation. MAS(TM) is committed to total product innovation and leadership in the Quality Assurance segment of the diagnostics industry by providing superior customer and information services See Information Systems. for Total Quality Solutions, and building world-class, quality products that always anticipate their customers' wants and exceed their expectations. Additional information about MAS(TM) and its products can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.mas-inc.com |
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