The Beginnings of the Biosensor
Recognizing the versatile and valuable properties of piezoelectricity, TBT partnered with Drexel University in conjunction with Dr. Greg Adam’s Lab at Temple University’s Fox Chase Cancer Center to develop a biosensor. This work focused on developing the sensor to be a rapid, on site, accurate and inexpensive sensor system that could detect proteins at low levels without the associated equipment needed for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests and other detection technologies.
The result of this work was the TBT Piezoelectric Microcantilever System (PEMS) which was then licensed to TBT Group from Drexel University. TBT continued to develop the sensor and the method of creating a high volume manufacturing process for this technology and all of the associated components required to bring this new and innovative sensor technology from a laboratory curiosity to a high volume point of care system, with the potential to be used in a wide range of applications from human diagnostics to animal health, food safety and bioprocessing. The biosensor system can be used to detect proteins, viruses, bacteria, and chemicals. It can also be used to detect foodborne pathogens, which led to the biosensors being used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Services & the Eastern Regional Research Center.
In 2010, Mr. DeClement began to focus on scale commercialization strategies for existing products and the expansion of products addressing current market needs (e.g., sonar, ultrasounds, sensors), one of the most exciting of which is the Company’s newly developed rapid, highly accurate, and cost effective COVID-19 biosensor test. The patented biosensor is capable of testing for the presence of viruses, bacteria or proteins in biological and non-biological fluids, and will transform the nature of presumptive diagnostic testing through the innovative use of PEMS.
