Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology
$25,000.00
Development and optimization of a portable COVID-19 detection device for wastewater applications
FY 2021-22
Summary
Measuring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater provides critical information to governing agencies on the potential COVID-19 risks their communities face. Rapid monitoring tools are becoming increasingly important in the ability to detect these occurrences quickly and accurately. FREDsense Technologies Corp. (FREDsense) is a Canadian company based out of Calgary, Alberta, specializing in the development of innovative water quality field testing kits. In collaboration with Fleming College's Centre for Advancement of Water and Wastewater Technologies (CAWT) this applied research project will focus on the optimization of FREDsense's newest technology used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. This applied research project will first focus on establishing the device's virus detection capabilities in pure water and then in real world wastewater samples. As the project progresses and data is analyzed, recommendations and modifications to the device will be made to improve performance in terms of detection capacity, as well as identifying and correcting for interfering substances found in wastewater. The device's performance will be compared to the standard and widely used RT-qPCR method. These results will allow FREDsense to further develop and refine their technology and accelerate their market entry plans.
Program
Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
567167-2021
Name nom
Goodwin, Brett
Department département
Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, School of
Organization id
4915
Institution établissement
Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2021
Competition year année de concours
2021
Award amount
25000
Program id
CARD1
Program name en
Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1
Program name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement appliquée - niveau 1
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
1561
Committee name en
Applied Research and Development Grants
Committee name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement appliquée
Area of application code
902
Area of application group en
Commercial services
Area of application group fr
Services commerciaux
Area of application en
Waste, waste management and recycling
Area of application fr
Déchets, gestion des déchets et recyclage
Research subject code
1502
Research subject group en
Environmental engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie de l'environnement
Research subject en
Waste water treatment
Research subject fr
Traitement des eaux usées
Installment
inst:1
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
Development and optimization of a portable COVID-19 detection device for wastewater applications
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
Measuring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater provides critical information to governing agencies on the potential COVID-19 risks their communities face. Rapid monitoring tools are becoming increasingly important in the ability to detect these occurrences quickly and accurately. FREDsense Technologies Corp. (FREDsense) is a Canadian company based out of Calgary, Alberta, specializing in the development of innovative water quality field testing kits. In collaboration with Fleming College's Centre for Advancement of Water and Wastewater Technologies (CAWT) this applied research project will focus on the optimization of FREDsense's newest technology used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. This applied research project will first focus on establishing the device's virus detection capabilities in pure water and then in real world wastewater samples. As the project progresses and data is analyzed, recommendations and modifications to the device will be made to improve performance in terms of detection capacity, as well as identifying and correcting for interfering substances found in wastewater. The device's performance will be compared to the standard and widely used RT-qPCR method. These results will allow FREDsense to further develop and refine their technology and accelerate their market entry plans.
