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Field-Deployable Biothreat Detection: GSSHealth’s “Lab-in-a-Backpack”

Biothreats and emerging infectious diseases demand rapid, field-ready detection. GSSHealth developed a portable, off-grid next-generation sequencing (NGS) lab—the “Lab-in-a-Backpack”—to enhance biosurveillance in remote, high-risk areas.

Pilot Deployment & Global Expansion

The system was first tested in Maryland, analyzing riverbank soil for proof of concept. Findings refined the platform for field use in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea, where GSSHealth assessed geopolitical risks, built local partnerships, and trained scientists in NGS-based pathogen detection.

Operational Impact

Using the MinION NGS device, local teams identified pathogens with outbreak potential in real time. The project demonstrated how NGS can strengthen outbreak response and global health security by enabling hyperlocal surveillance.

Next Steps

As NGS advances, field-ready sequencing will transform biothreat detection and pandemic preparedness. GSSHealth continues to refine cost-effective, deployable solutions to bolster national security and global biosurveillance.

The global NGS market is expected to continue expand with the cost per test continuing to fall. In June 2020, an NGS diagnostic device for COVID-19 was approved for use in the US allowing for high-volume disease screening for more effective outbreak surveillance. NGS as a platform technology, represents just one example of innovation contributing to more effective and scalable biothreat detection.

With further advancements in technology, the increasing availability of field appropriate and cost-effective NGS platforms will lead to improved global health security through enhanced biothreat detection and response systems.

For more information on GSSHealth’s recent NGS project in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea, watch Martin Adams’ lightning presentation from the Nanopore Community Meeting 2019 in New York (see Figure 3). If you are interested in partnering with us on a technology innovation project, please reach out at info@gsshealth.com

Figure 3. GSSHealth Senior Biosecurity Specialist Martin Adams, speaking on NGS field implementation at the 2019 Oxford Nanopore Community Meeting.

© 2025 by GSSHealth. 

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