Verification of the FORDETECT Technology for fast Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria

FORDETECT is a new microfluidic method for quick, on-site, automatic detection of pathogens of choice in a liquid sample. It contains single-use disposable cartridge with precise automatic control of the fluidic flow and the parallel detection of multiple pathogens in one sample. Application areas for FORDETECT include food safety and fish health in the aquaculture industry, surveillance of pathogens in water resources and human diagnostics. There is a need for on-site surveillance of listeria in salmon slaughterhouses in Norway to reduce the analysis time from 2-3 days to 1 hour. Furthermore, on-site surveillance of fish pathogens is of great interest to the fish farming industry. The overall objective of the project is to reduce the commercial risks in further development of the FORDETECT technology by verifying the performance and reliability of the technology, demonstrate it on-site for stakeholders and ascertain cost efficiency and market acceptance. In this project we will design and build the next phase prototype and verify the technology for fast detection of listeria in processing plants for salmon and bacteria in distribution systems for drinking water in collaboration with our stakeholders. A secondary aim is to secure funding for the next phase of product development and commercialization activities after the project and to define an optimal strategy to securing intellectual property rights and freedom to operate.