‘It puts people’s minds at ease’: UMBC using Maryland-made COVID-detection device in labs, classrooms, dorms

After a visitor to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Performing Arts & Humanities Concert Hall tested positive for COVID-19 last week, Mike Pound wheeled a lab cart carrying a printer-sized device with a large megaphone-like attachment into the room. The BioFlash, a Maryland-made technology, sucked in an air sample, which passed over a compact disc-like biosensor containing a COVID-19 antibody. In a matter of minutes, a small digital panel on the side read: “Test complete — No agents detected.” The room was cleared for class to take place the next day.