rats as biosensors...rats as biosensors apopo impact –mine detectionland released for local...
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RATS AS BIOSENSORSEmploying African giant pouched rats as
scent detectors
Dr. Miriam Schneider, Senior Researcher, APOPO
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
◼ Who we are and what we do
APOPO is a Belgium non-profit organization with
headquarter in Tanzania that trains African giant
pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei) to save lives by
sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis (TB)
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHERE WE WORK
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT – MINE DETECTION
◼ A mine detection rat can search the
area of a tennis court in < 30
minutes. This can take a human
with a metal detector up to 4 days.
◼ Unlike metal detectors, mine
detection rats ignore scrap metal and
only detect the scent of explosives.
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
APOPO IMPACT – MINE DETECTION
Land released for local communities
23,623,426 m2 M2
138,480
Total landmines and UXO destroyed
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT -TB
◼ Rats as efficient second-line screening tool:
A trained rat can check 100 samples in 20
minutes. This could take a lab technician
up to four days.
◼ The rats are detecting the scent of
tuberculosis in sputum samples.
◼ Suspect samples are then re-
checked using WHO endorsed
confirmation tests.
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
HOW WE DO IT -TB
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
APOPO IMPACT - TB
Additional TB patients found
15,679
Total number of samples evaluated
591,878
APOPO’s research has raised the case detection rate of partner clinics by 40%
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHY GIANT POUCHED RATS
Ewer, 1966; Peichl et al. 1998
Sense of smell important for
navigation, social skills and
detection and choice of
foodsources
Nocturnal animals; live in underground
burrows; blurry, monochromatic vision
◼ Highly developed sense of smell
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WHY GIANT POUCHED RATS
◼ Highly developed sense of smell
◼ Intelligent and easy to train
◼ Cheap to feed, breed, maintain
and transport
◼ Indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa
and therefore resistant to most
tropical diseases and familiar with
the climate
◼ Although sociable - easily
transferable between trainers
◼ Live up to 10 years
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ APOPO is a Belgium non-profit organization with headquarter in Tanzania that trains African giant pouched rats (Cricetomysansorgei) to save lives by sniffing out landmines and tuberculosis (TB)
◼ Potential new application: detection of contraband wildlife products
◼ Employing giant rats for
detection of contraband wildlife
products ?
◼ Integrated approach to
employ rats as additional
and synergistic tools to
existing technologies
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ Proof-of-concept: Detection of contraband wildlife products
Ground Pangolin African hardwood
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ Proof-of-concept: Detection of contraband wildlife products
Target samples
Non-Targets:
Common masking agents
Pangolin scales
(Smutsia temminckii)seized African hardwood
(Dalbergia melanoxylon)
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼STAGE 1: Are the rats able to find wildlife targets and ignore non-targets?
Pangolin HITs
% o
f Sa
mp
les
Hardwood HITs
False alarms
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼STAGE 2: How well are the rats able to find small
amounts of the target hidden in non-target samples?
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
◼ STAGE 2: How well are the rats able to find small amounts of
the target hidden in non-target samples?
RATS AS BIOSENSORS
WILDLIFE DETECTION
NEXT STEPS
◼ Giant pouched rats are effective biosensors
◼ They can be trained to detect wildlife products
◼ Develop deployable detection system
◼ Trial with experienced partners in real-life settings
◼ With sufficient funding - continue training with new material
◼ Finding the niche - Identify where our rats would be needed most
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION !
Visit us www.apopo.org
Adopt a HeroRAT https://www.apopo.org/en/adopt
Funding:
