PERSISTENT EXPERIMENTATION


MINION TESTING


The MinION Mk1C Sequencer, developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, is readied for indoor field-testing during Arctic Edge 2024. By encouraging industry participation in experimentation events, USAMRDC’s EI Cell helps inform industry best practices.


operated by service members—that will happen in future tests—and Cmarik trav- eled to JBER to provide on-site assistance.


“Dr. Cmarik was very proactive in terms of making sure that I was getting the support I needed from the POCs that she put me in touch with,” said Sellers. “Once we got on ground, it was a very smooth process. Te team was testing within probably an hour and a half of arriving at the test- ing site.”


The extreme cold and high winds of Alaska provided the USAMRIID team with valuable knowledge that they would


26 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2024


not be able to gain in a lab setting, even inside their own cold-weather facility. Te wind blew off pipette tips, scattered notes and reduced the dexterity of scientists’ hands clad only in nitrile gloves, while the extreme cold froze samples and reagents, turned plastic tools brittle and lowered battery efficiency, reducing the number of test runs that could be completed.


In identifying solutions for these prob- lems, the scientists focused on using things that warfighters would likely have on hand in the field, such as chemical hand warm- ers, flameless ration heaters and, in a pinch, even body heat. Tey will use this


experience to develop initial protocols that warfighters will test in subsequent exer- cises and to suggest novel solutions, such as 3D-printed immunoassay holders with slots for inserting hand warmers to keep them from freezing.


“Tat's the reason we took this team to Arctic Edge,” said Sellers. “Our reason for going was to break this stuff, but I knew they had the expertise to address and solve these problems on the fly. A medic or a warfighter trying to perform tests follow- ing strict protocols might find it very difficult under those conditions.”


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