Development and optimization of a portable COVID-19 detection device for wastewater applications

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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.