A few drops and a few minutes are all it takes to detect contaminated water with a palm-sized device developed by a research team led by Waterloo Engineering experts.
The researchers hope to save lives and reduce illness with technology to rapidly and inexpensively detect toxic E. coli bacteria right on site in homes and water treatment plants, and to regularly monitor bodies of water.
“We’re confident our technology could have a significant health impact,” said Dr. Carolyn Ren, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and the Canada Research Chair in Microfluidic Technologies.
“Testing shows it is very accurate, both in terms of specificity – the ability to differentiate between E. coli and other bacteria – and sensitivity.”
The new detector, which cost just $70 in parts to develop, builds on technology researchers originally developed to detect the COVID-19 virus during the global pandemic.
Go to Palm-sized device detects E. coli in minutes for the full story.