Rapid DNA Technology: Machine accelerates testing of wildfire victims' remains in US

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A new technology could help rescuers quickly identify victims during disaster situations. Some refer to the "Rapid DNA" technology as a magic box. A machine tests DNA samples and produces results in as little as two hours. CGTN's Hendrik Sybrandy reports.

It's the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. 85 people were killed when flames swept through the town of Paradise this past November. It took days, even weeks, to find all the bodies.

RICK CRAWFORD CAL FIRE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER "The area is broken down into a gridded section and each grid will be given a search team and then they will go from property to property looking for any evidence of human remains."

KORY HONEA BUTTE COUNTY SHERIFF "I want to recover as many remains as we possibly can as soon as we possibly can because I understand the toll that it takes on people not knowing what became of their loved ones."

This compact device helped identify more than half of the fire victims. ANDE is a mobile platform can be set up anywhere, can be hooked up to any power source. The Longmont, Colorado company ANDE has developed technology that can analyze DNA samples from human tissue or blood and objects almost instantaneously.

JIM DAVIS ANDE CHIEF FEDERAL OFFICER "You take that swab, you insert it into a plastic block, what we call a biochip. That chip goes into the instrument. You close the door and literally wait just two hours."

ANDE Chief Federal Officer Jim Davis believes this machine, created with funding help from the U.S. government, is a game-changer when it comes to victim identification.

JIM DAVIS ANDE CHIEF FEDERAL OFFICER "It's unparalleled technology. It's unlike anything we've ever had the ability to do before."

HENDRIK SYBRANDY DENVER "We're used to seeing DNA processed just like that in movies and in T.V. shows. It doesn't work that way in real life, where the wait for DNA results can last for weeks, months or longer."

There is currently a backlog of hundreds of thousands of sex assault cases, Davis says.

JIM DAVIS ANDE CHIEF FEDERAL OFFICER "That's hundreds of thousands of victims that don't have closure. That's hundreds of thousands of subjects that are out running around perhaps reoffending."

He thinks instruments like this could help identify many of those suspects.

EMMA HALL BOULDER COUNTY CORONER "Well I think it's a great concept. I mean DNA continues to get better and better over the years."

Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall says so-called Rapid DNA applies more to mass casualty events than offices like hers, where the, $200-300 cost per test, could be prohibitive. Family members able to provide DNA matches may also be hard to find.

EMMA HALL BOULDER COUNTY CORONER "Sometimes we have to think creatively and work outside of the box and this is just one tool."

Closure for family members of victims is critical.

JIM DAVIS ANDE CHIEF FEDERAL OFFICER "Identifying them quickly has never really been something we could do in the past. I mean this really had an extraordinary impact I think on the folks that lost loved ones in the fire."

Instant identification. It could become the norm before long, especially in disasters like this one. Hendrik Sybrandy, CGTN, Denver.