Portable instrument for quantification and genotyping of Cryptosporidium

隐孢子虫是一种寄生原生动物，在全球造成4.8万多名5岁以下儿童死亡和720万个残疾调整生命年。需要一种低成本的设备来快速检测饮用水和娱乐用水中的寄生虫，以实现有效的疾病管理做法。该项目与Advanced Universal Diagnok、Seqwater、ALS Water和黄金海岸水务公司合作，旨在开发一种新型设备，包括先进的微流体和生物传感技术，用于寄生虫的量化、基因分型和生存分析。预期结果是改进隐孢子虫管理、风险预测和迅速缓解即将爆发的疫情。提出的平台对检测其他病原体具有很大的潜力。

Cryptosporidium is a parasitic protozoan, causing more than 48,000 deaths in children under 5 and 7.2 million disability-adjusted-life-years globally. A low-cost device that rapidly detects the parasite in drinking and recreational water is needed to enable effective disease management practices. Partnering with Advanced Universal Diagnotik, Seqwater, ALS Water and Gold Coast Water, this project aims to develop a novel device, comprising advanced microfluidics and biosensing technology for parasite quantification, genotyping and viability analysis. Expected outcomes are improved Cryptosporidium management, risk prediction, and rapid mitigation of impending outbreaks. The proposed platform has a great potential for detecting other pathogens.