Reported September 2008

What is a Panther?: The PANTHER device uses immune cells altered to act as detectors of dangerous biological agents. The device takes in air and runs it past the cells gathered into groups, each designed to react to specific agent. The cells, which are engineered to respond to a specific pathogen, release photons of light when they detect their target. Other detectors recognize the release of light to indicate the pathogen that was detected. Based on the wavelengths of light that were released, the device outputs a list of dangerous pathogens that were found about three minutes after beginning the test.

The information contained in the TV portion of this report was written with support from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

If you would like more information, please contact:

James Harper, Ph.D.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Lexington, MA
(781) 981-0794
harper@ll.mit.edu

Dr. Todd H. Rider
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Lexington, MA
(781) 981-0559
thor@ll.mit.edu