The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID), Field Operations and Training Branch, Diagnostic Systems Division has announced intentions to acquire 8 Biofire Film Array analyzers from BioFire Defense to support the Field Identification of Biological Warfare Agents (FIBWA) program.
FIBWA trains students from the military and other government agencies to set-up, maintain, and operate a deployable confirmation laboratory under field conditions. The courses offer training in the most advanced fieldable technologies for biological warfare agent detection.
In 2005, the National Guard Bureau began using the FIBWA program as the foundation for the advanced biological component of their Civil Support Teams (CST). These teams, assigned to each state and territory, form the foundation of a highly specialized Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) response element.
Under the proposed contract, FIBWA will acquire 8 FilmArray Instrument packages, including laptop computers with installed FilmArray softwares, Manual Packets, Pouch Loading Stations, Bar Code Readers and required peripherals.
BioFire Defense also supplies the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS) Real-Time PCR instruments to the U.S. military and FIBWA training course.
Source: FBO.gov
